Shuttle/Shuttle Concept Restart: Fwd: Neil Armstrong Had Hidden Apollo 11 Artifacts

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From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: February 9, 2015 at 8:12:42 AM CST
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Subject: FW: Neil Armstrong Had Hidden Apollo 11 Artifacts

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Neil Armstrong's Purse: 1st Moonwalker Had Hidden Apollo 11 Artifacts
by Robert Z. Pearlman, collectSPACE.com Editor | Feb 6, 2015

Found only after this death in 2012, Neil Armstrong had hidden in his closet the Apollo 11 "McDivitt purse" (at left) and its contents of flown-to-the-moon lunar module parts.
Credit: Carol Armstrong/ALSJ View full size image
Neil Armstrong had a secret stash of moon landing mementos.
The first man to walk on the moon kept a bag full of small parts from the lunar module "Eagle" that he and his Apollo 11 crewmate Buzz Aldrin famously piloted to a landing at Tranquility Base on July 20, 1969. The stowage bag was discovered by Armstrong's widow after he died in 2012.
"I received an email from Carol Armstrong that she had located in one of Neil's closets a white cloth bag filled with assorted small items that looked like they may have come from a spacecraft," Allan Needell, the Apollo curator at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, wrote in a blog published on Friday (Feb. 6). "Needless to say, for a curator of a collection of space artifacts, it is hard to imagine anything more exciting." [Neil Armstrong: An Astronaut Icon (Photos)]
The bag, itself flown to the moon, was referred to as the "McDivitt purse," after the Apollo 9 astronaut whose idea it was to include aboard the spacecraft.
Its contents, identified by Needell and the team behind the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal, included Armstrong's waist tether, utility lights and their brackets, equipment netting, an emergency wrench, the optical sight that was mounted above Armstrong's window and the 16mm data acquisition camera (DAC) that recorded the now iconic footage of the lander's final approach and Armstrong's descent down the ladder to take his "small step" onto the moon.
"The 16mm DAC, given the images that it captured, ranks as enormously important," Needell told collectSPACE. He noted though, that all of the items have added significance given their connection to Armstrong.
The Apollo 11 "McDivitt purse" seen in Buzz Aldrin's hand as he, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins flew to the moon in 1969.
Credit: NASA
View full size image
For whatever reason, Neil Armstrong seemingly kept the bag a secret for more than four decades. Even when questioned about mementos by his authorized biographer, Armstrong made no mention of the historic artifacts that were tucked away in his closet.
To be clear, the bag was not something Armstrong snuck home from the moon. After returning to lunar orbit, the bag and its contents were moved from Eagle to the command module "Columbia" before the lander was directed to crash back to the surface. Had the purse remained aboard, it too would have been destroyed.
Armstrong mentioned the purse to command module pilot Michael Collins as it was being transferred from one craft to the other.
"That [is] just a bunch of trash that we want to take back — LM parts, odds and ends," Armstrong said.
Later, Collins called Mission Control to note where the bag was being placed for the trip home and about how much it weighed.
It is not known how the purse came to be in Armstrong's possession after the mission, but it wasn't unusual for the astronauts to retain small spent parts of their capsules as souvenirs. In September 2012, one month after Armstrong died, President Barack Obama signed into law a bill that confirmed the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts had legal title their mementos.
For now, the purse and its contents are on extended loan from the Armstrong estate to the Smithsonian, though the intention is to eventually donate them to the museum. In addition to the McDivitt purse, the family has also offered an extensive collection of Armstrong's personal items and memorabilia.
Two of the artifacts, the data camera and waist tether, are already on display at the National Air and Space Museum as part of the new exhibition, "Outside the Spacecraft: 50 Years of Extra-Vehicular Activity," which is open through June. The tether was designed to be used in the case of an emergency spacewalk but instead Armstrong used it to suspend his legs while trying to rest inside the lander (a determination that the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal team made by inspecting the rediscovered artifact).
Eventually, the Armstrong purse and many, if not all of its contents may be put on display as part of the museum's planned renovation of its Apollo-dedicated gallery.
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http://sploid.gizmodo.com/secret-stash-of-moon-artifacts-found-hidden-in-neil-arm-1684449533

Written by Jesus Diaz

Secret stash of Moon artifacts found hidden in Neil Armstrong's closet

Jesus Diaz
Saturday 5:45pm

These are the contents of a mysterious white bag found hidden in Neil Armstrong's closet: Weird looking lamps, wrenches, utility brackets, sights, and a film camera that later was identified as the one that captured the famous Apollo 11's descent on the Moon's surface. Nobody knew about it, including his widow.
According to NASA, Carol Armstrong sent photos to Allan Needell, curator of the Apollo collection at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, who immediately knew what was inside: It was a McDivitt Purse full of parts from the Eagle, Apollo 11's Lunar Module:
After Neil Armstrong's death, his widow, Carol, discovered a white cloth bag in a closet, containing what were obviously either flight or space related artifacts. She contacted Allan Needell, curator of the Apollo collection at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, and provided photographs of the items. Needell, who immediately realized that the bag—known to the astronauts as the Purse - and its contents could be hardware from the Apollo 11 mission, asked the authors for support in identifying and documenting the flight history and purpose of these artifacts. After some research it became apparent that the purse and its contents were lunar surface equipment carried in the Lunar Module Eagle during the epic journey of Apollo 11.
These artifacts are among the very few Apollo 11 flown items brought back from Tranquility Base and, thus, are of priceless historical value. Of utmost importance is the 16mm movie camera with its 10mm lens. The camera was mounted behind the right forward window of the lunar module and was used to film the final phase of the descent to the lunar surface, the landing, as well as Neil Armstrong's and Buzz Aldrin's activities on the lunar surface including taking the first samples of lunar soil and planting the US flag. Thanks to the Neil Armstrong family, the Apollo 11 purse and its contents are now on loan at the National Air and Space Museum for preservation, research and eventual public display.
Here's a list of everything inside and how it looked inside and outside the Eagle:
1. The McDivitt Purse
The McDivitt Purse, named that way in honor of Apollo 9 Commander Jim McDivitt, who wanted a stowage bag that could be positioned at the front of the spacecraft to hold items, such as the purge valves, which might otherwise fall to the cabin floor while they were preparing for EVAs.
2. Power Cable for Data Acquisition Camera (item 12)
3 & 4. Utility lights
5 & 6. Utility clamps
7. Crewman Optical Alignment Sight (COAS)
8. Filter (Snap-on for COAS)
Filter mounted on the COAS
9. Light Bulb Assembly (Spare for COAS)
10. Waist Tether (Extra-Vehicular Activity tether)
11. Helmet Tie Down Strap (x2)
12. Data Acquisition Camera (DAC -16mm movie)
This is the camera that captured the descent (this video gets me every single time I watch it):
12a. Right-Angle Bracket Adapter (for DAC)
Camera mounted attached to power cable
12b. 10-mm lens (for DAC)

13. Lens Shade (Teflon; for 10mm lens on DAC)

14. Eyeguard Assembly (for AOT)
The Alignment Optical Telescope was used for navigation while flying the Lunar Module, "a periscope-type device that protruded through the top of the LM. The astronauts used AOT to make direct visual sightings and record precise angular measurements of pairs of celestial objects."
15. Mirror (it's actually polished metal)
16. Tool B - Emergency Wrench
17. Waste Management Cover
18. Netting