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Saturday, July 29, 2017

LUNAR SAMPLE RETURN BAG COSTS 1.8 MILLION DOLLARS

Do you believe that a bag sold for 1.2 million dollars:
    Yes, an astronaut Neil Armstrong's bag sold for 1.2 million dollars at auction.



Neil Armstrong:
    Neil A. Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio,
on August 5, 1930. He began his NASA career in Ohio.After serving as a naval aviator from 1949 to 1952, Armstrong joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1955. His first assignment was with the NACA Lewis Research Center (now NASA Glenn) in Cleveland. Over the next 17 years, he was an engineer, test pilot, astronaut and administrator for NACA and its successor agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
    As a research pilot at NASA's Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., he was a project pilot on many pioneering high speed aircraft, including the well known, 4000-mph X-15. He has flown over 200 different models of aircraft, including jets, rockets, helicopters and gliders.Armstrong transferred to astronaut status in 1962. He was assigned as command pilot for the Gemini 8 mission. Gemini 8 was launched on March 16, 1966, and Armstrong performed the first successful docking of two vehicles in space.



    As spacecraft commander for Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing mission, Armstrong gained the distinction of being the first man to land a craft on the moon and first to step on its surface.Armstrong subsequently held the position of Deputy Associate Administrator for Aeronautics, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. In this position, he was responsible for the coordination and management of overall NASA research and technology work related to aeronautics.He was Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cincinnati between 1971-1979. During the years 1982-1992, Armstrong was chairman of Computing Technologies for Aviation, Inc., Charlottesville, Va.
    He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue University and a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California. He holds honorary doctorates from a number of universities.Armstrong was a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and the Royal Aeronautical Society; Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the International Astronautics Federation.
    He was a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco. He served as a member of the National Commission on Space (1985-1986), as Vice-Chairman of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident (1986), and as Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Peace Corps (1971-1973).
    Armstrong was decorated by 17 countries. He was the recipient of many special honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom; the Congressional Gold Medal; the Congressional Space Medal of Honor; the Explorers Club Medal; the Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy; the NASA Distinguished Service Medal; the Harmon International Aviation Trophy; the Royal Geographic Society's Gold Medal; the Federation Aeronautique Internationale's Gold Space Medal; the American Astronautical Society Flight Achievement Award; the Robert J. Collier Trophy; the AIAA Astronautics Award; the Octave Chanute Award; and the John J. Montgomery Award.
     Armstrong passed away on Aug. 25, 2012 following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures. He was 82.

Signature of Neil Armstrong:




Lunar space return bag:
    This bag got it's name because the space traveler,Neil Armstrong who stepped on the moon used the bag to bring the moon samples.It is the first bag to bring the moon dust back to the Earth.In Houston at the Johnson space research center,the bag was unidentified for several years.The auctioneer Sotheby's said that it was bought by a person who bid by telephone and wished not to be named publicly.The bag was sold at an auction in New York recently marked 48th anniversary of the first moon landing for 1.8 million dollars.
    Auctioneers had expected that the expected fetch of the bag would be between 2 million to 4 million dollars.But their expectations became false.



    And now it is the highest sold item at an auction of moon memorabilia.Before this the highest sold item was Apollo 13 flight plan annotated by its crew was sold for 2,75,000 dollars followed by a spacesuit worn by U.S astronaut Gus Grissom for 43,750 dollars and famous image of Buzz Aldrin of Apollo 11 on the moon taken by Neil Armstrong for 35,000 dollars.
    After Armstrong and his crew of Apollo 11 returned in July 1969,the fate of the 12-inch by 8.5 inch bag labelled "Lunar Space Return",was unknown for decades.According to the court records ,the manager of Kansas Museum (Max Ary)was convicted in 2014 after disappearing from the garage.The bag was seized by US marshals service which put it up for auction three times,drawing no bids, until it was bought in 2015 for only 995 dollars by a Chicago area attorney,Nancy Lee Carlson.She sent the bag to NASA to get authentications and when the tests revealed it was used by Neil Armstrong and still the dust of moon was present inside the bag.The US space agency decided to keep the bag with themselves.
    Carlson successfully sued NASA to get the bag back and the attention created by her legal challenge prompted many inquiries from potential buyers.This led the Carlson to decide to auction the bag again.One group criticised the decision to sell a piece of space history.But the auctioneer didn't give years to them.


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