[PHOTOS] These are the Items Discovered By The Widow of Astronaut Neil Armstrong; From His Trip to the Moon Tucked Away in a Closet

The widow of astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, discovered a mysterious bag full of equipment from the moon landing buried in his closet.

Carol Armstrong reportedly found the white bag, known as a McDivitt purse, filled with wrenches, lamps, cables and the 16mm camera that included footage of the Apollo 11’s descent on the moon’s surface. The discovery was made following Neil Armstrong’s death in 2012.

Armstrong allegedly hid the purse after returning from his historic trip. His wife had no clue that the bag of mementos existed until she discovered it more than 40 years after it was hidden.

Mrs. Armstrong took photos of the contents and sent them to Allan Needell, curator of the Apollo collection at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

Inside the McDivitt purse was a collection of power cables, utility lights, a waist tether, clamps, helmet straps, a mirror, a wrench, netting, eye guard assembly, a 10mm lens for the camera, the 16mm camera itself, the camera’s bracket, a lens shade and netting.

“These artifacts are among the very few Apollo 11 flown items brought back from Tranquility Base and, thus, are of priceless historical value,” NASA wrote, according to Gizmodo. “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.”

According to the Daily Mail, the purse was supposed to be left on the moon’s surface. Apollo 11 astronauts reportedly made mention of the bag during their journey, requesting that they be able to take it back to Earth with them.

Sources: Daily MailGizmodo / Photo Credit: NASA via Gizmodo

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