The long-lost bag used by NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong to collect the first-ever moon samples has been sold for a whopping USD 1,812,500 at an auction in the US.
The bag, auctioned on the occasion of the 48th anniversary of mankind’s first moon landing, was expected to fetch USD 2-4 million. It still contains traces of the moon dust, Sotheby’s said.
During the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, Armstrong collected nearly 500 grammes of material finer than one centimeter, as well as 12 rock fragments larger than a centimeter from five different locations on the lunar surface in the region known as the Sea of Tranquility.
Given the then unknown nature of the lunar material, the decontamination bag was used to minimize any potential harm the samples might pose to the Command Module and planet Earth.
Nearly all of the equipment from that historic mission is housed in the US National Collections at the Smithsonian; however, a recent court ruling has allowed this to be the only such artifact in private hands.
The true history of the bag went unknown for decades until just a year ago. Read more...
The bag, auctioned on the occasion of the 48th anniversary of mankind’s first moon landing, was expected to fetch USD 2-4 million. It still contains traces of the moon dust, Sotheby’s said.
During the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, Armstrong collected nearly 500 grammes of material finer than one centimeter, as well as 12 rock fragments larger than a centimeter from five different locations on the lunar surface in the region known as the Sea of Tranquility.
Given the then unknown nature of the lunar material, the decontamination bag was used to minimize any potential harm the samples might pose to the Command Module and planet Earth.
Nearly all of the equipment from that historic mission is housed in the US National Collections at the Smithsonian; however, a recent court ruling has allowed this to be the only such artifact in private hands.
The true history of the bag went unknown for decades until just a year ago. Read more...