Neil Armstrong's secret bag of moon-landing souvenirs

WE’VE all got sentimental knick-knacks from our holidays bundled away in forgotten cupboards, but this is something else. Last week the US National Air and Space Museum revealed it had been given a bag of souvenirs brought back from the moon by astronaut Neil Armstrong. It has now placed some of the items on display.

The lunar keepsakes, which include the 16mm film camera used to document Armstrong’s “one small step” in 1969, were uncovered by Carol Armstrong, his widow. She found the bag while cleaning out a closet after his death in 2012. She handed them over to the museum in June 2013, which kept them secret while documenting the items.

Armstrong also kept a variety of cables, plus a tether he had used to support his feet while resting on the moon. “As far as we know, Neil has never discussed the existence of these items and no one else has seen them in the 45 years since he returned from the moon,” said curator Allan Needell in a blog post about the find.

This article appeared in print under the headline “Moon mementos”