USD 4 million for a bag containing moon land

Four million dollars is the expected price of astronaut Neil Armstrong's moon dust bag about to be auctioned in July.

Nancy Lee Carlson, owner of the dust bag from the moon, is expected to earn 4,000 times the amount originally spent to buy it from NASA, thanks to the agency's mistake.

It was a white square zipper pocket and was quite simple. The outside of the bag has the words 'LUNAR SAMPLE RETURN' (specimen taken from the moon). The bag was carried by Neil Armstrong to the moon in 1969 on Apollo 11. He used it to store samples of dirt collected in an area called 'Sea of ​​Tranquility'. However, upon returning to Earth, the bag was mixed with other items that were not categorized into NASA's specimen warehouse.

The moon's dust and dirt bag is used by astronaut Neil Armstrong.(Photo: Reuters).

Several decades later, NASA unknowingly auctioned off this bag in all sorts of other items related to pretty cosmopolitan missions. The bag was bought by attorney Nancy Lee Carlson in Chicago for only $ 995.

Curious about the specific identity of the bag, Nancy sent it back to NASA for source verification. After checking the material inside, the agency discovered a mistake when accidentally selling a precious asset. So, NASA tried to keep the bag without giving it to Nancy.

However, after a long legal battle, the US court forced NASA to return the bag to Ms. Nacy last February. According to the plan, on July 20, to commemorate the 48th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the moon, this bag will be auctioned by its owner again.

According to Sotheby's auction house, the bag will probably be purchased for between $ 2 million and $ 4 million. Meanwhile, Jim Hull, head of NASA exhibitions and artifacts, commented that the bag is an "invaluable" asset not only for storing dust in space but also for calendar value. Great history, marking the first time people set foot on the moon.