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The bag used by U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong to bring back dust samples from the moon during mankind's first moon-landing mission has been sold for 1.8 million U.S. dollars at an auction in New York, local media reported.
It was considered a good deal for the mysterious buyer as the price was below the pre-sale estimates of 2 million to 4 million dollars, the USA Today reported on Saturday.
"Nearly all of the equipment from that historic mission is housed in the US National Collection at the Smithsonian. This is the only artifact available for private ownership," auctioneer Sotheby's category note reads.
The bag still contains traces of lunar dust on the inside.
Nancy Carlson, previous owner of the bag, bought the artifact two years ago for only 995 dollars in an online auction of assets seized by the U.S. Marshals Service.
Suspecting the bag had flown on Apollo 11 in 1969, the Chicago resident sent it to NASA for authentication. After the testing, the space agency realized it was the bag that collected the very first pieces of the moon and wanted to keep hold of it, arguing that the artifact was historically significant and should never be owned by a private collector.
A legal battle broke out between the woman and NASA. In February, the court ruled that although the bag was stolen property, Carlson's purchase was lawful, ordering NASA to return it.
Thursday's auction coincided with the 48th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing mission. Other items on sale included a flight plan for the Apollo 13 mission and a Snoopy Astronaut Doll designed by Apollo 10 LM pilot.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
