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astronaut equipment

“Odds and ends” from the trip to the moon

Items tucked away by Armstrong: camera may be worth $1,000,000

National Air and Space Museum Items tucked away by Armstrong: camera may be worth $1,000,000National Air and Space Museum

A cloth bag used by US astronaut Neil Armstrong during his historic trip to the moon in July 1969 was exhibited to the public in February 2015. Armstrong’s widow, Carol, found the artifact in a closet following her husband’s death in 2012. Curators from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington analyzed the bag’s contents, which included a camera, electrical cables, straps, and tools. The experts concluded that Armstrong indeed had the bag with him in the Lunar Module (LM) Eagle, which touched down on the moon’s surface. Armstrong, who traveled with astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins aboard the Apollo 11, was the first man to set foot on the moon. Transcripts of a conversation then recorded between Armstrong and Collins helped to confirm the authenticity of these items: “That one’s just a bunch of trash that we want to take back—LM parts, odds and ends,” said Armstrong. Bill Harwood, a space consultant contacted by CBS News, said the camera alone could fetch up to $1,000,000 if auctioned as a historic relic.

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