science
Neil Armstrong's Hidden Moon Artifacts Included the Camera That Filmed First Steps
A Temporary Stowage Bag called the McDivitt Purse was found in Neil Armstrong's closet in 2014 containing 18 items from Apollo 11, including the 16mm camera that filmed the first moonwalk.
Apr 3rd 2026 ยท United States
Insights
- Neil Armstrong privately kept 18 disposable items from Apollo 11 in a Temporary Stowage Bag known as the McDivitt Purse.
- The bag contained a 16mm Data Acquisition Camera with a 10mm lens that recorded the descent and Armstrong's first steps on the Moon.
- Armstrong's wife discovered the bag in their closet in 2014, more than four decades after the mission.
- NASA and the public were unaware of the bag's existence until its discovery in 2014.
- Apollo 11 separately returned about 21.5 kilograms of lunar samples for scientific study.
- Recovered items from the bag are being added to museum and historical collections as links between official science and personal history.
Sources
- The physical and biological challenges of life on the Moon www.independent.co.uk
- Nasa wants to put humans on the Moon. Here are the challenges they face www.independent.co.uk
- The Race for the Future of the Moon www.nytimes.com
- What Neil Armstrong really took from the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission timesofindia.indiatimes.com