{"id":18868,"date":"2017-07-21T01:28:31","date_gmt":"2017-07-20T17:28:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/48-years-after-apollo-11-moon-landing-lunar-dust-bag-sells-for-1-8-million\/"},"modified":"2017-07-21T01:28:31","modified_gmt":"2017-07-20T17:28:31","slug":"48-years-after-apollo-11-moon-landing-lunar-dust-bag-sells-for-1-8-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/48-years-after-apollo-11-moon-landing-lunar-dust-bag-sells-for-1-8-million\/","title":{"rendered":"48 years after Apollo 11 moon landing, lunar dust bag sells for $1.8 million"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Neil
A view from the Apollo 11 lunar module shows mission commander Neil Armstrong collecting a sample of lunar dust and rocks. At his feet is the handle for the sample collection tool. (NASA Photo \/ Andy Chaikin \/ CollectSpace.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 48th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing was payday for a Chicago-area lawyer who latched onto a moondirt sample bag from the mission and wouldn\u2019t let go.<\/p>\n

The Sotheby\u2019s auction house said the 8-by-12-inch bag was sold to an undisclosed buyer for more than $1.8 million, including the buyer\u2019s premium. That\u2019s a bit less than the pre-sale estimate of $2 million to $4 million, but notable for historical reasons as well as the price.<\/p>\n

Nancy Lee Carlson, an attorney who\u2019s also a space fan, bought the bag for $995 on a federal auction website in 2015. Unknown to her, the bag was the subject of a museum scandal years earlier. It had been seized by federal authorities in the course of prosecuting the case and was mistakenly put up for sale to seek restitution.<\/p>\n

\"Lunar
Apollo 11\u2019s crew stored lunar soil samples in this storage bag, and the fabric is still laced with moondust. (Sotheby\u2019s Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Carlson brought her purchase to NASA for authentication, the space agency confiscated it as ill-gotten government property. NASA argued that the bag \u201cbelongs to the American people and should be on display for the public,\u201d as most of Apollo\u2019s space-flown artifacts are.<\/p>\n

Apollo lunar samples rank among the most highly prized of NASA\u2019s artifacts, and objects that bear even a light sprinkling of moondust are rarely sold. (Seattle\u2019s Museum of Flight has some moon-flown objects, including a moon rock and a checklist from Apollo 12, on display as part of its current \u201cApollo\u201d exhibit.)<\/p>\n

After NASA took the bag away, Carlson went to federal court to get it back, and a judge ruled that she should have it. She subsequently decided to sell the bag, with some of the proceeds going to charities.<\/p>\n

The bag was the headliner in a 48th-anniversary auction of space artifacts and memorabilia that brought in $3.8 million in all. Other big-ticket items included a signed Apollo 13 flight plan ($275,000) and signed photographs of Apollo 11\u2019s Buzz Aldrin and Apollo 16\u2019s Charlie Duke on the lunar surface ($35,000 and $37,500, respectively).<\/p>\n