The personal collection of US astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first person to set foot on the Moon exactly 49 years ago, is to be auctioned by his family.
Containing over 2,000 items, the collection will go on sale in a series of three auctions with the first in November and another two in May and November next year, Dallas-based Heritage Auctions said in a statement.
Among the items being offered for sale are Robbins medallions flown on the Apollo 11 mission, including an "extremely rare gold example."
A Purdue University Centennial 1869-1969 silk flag carried by Armstrong to the Moon will also be on auction. Purdue was Armstrong's alma mater.
Pieces of a wing and propeller from the Wright Brothers Flyer that Armstrong took with him on Apollo 11, as well as a gold pin from Gemini 8 - Armstrong's first spaceflight - and his Boy Scouts Cap will also be auctioned.
Correspondence, including a NASA document "underscoring the planning behind the landmark event," will also be on sale, according to Heritage Auctions.
"There will be flown items, autographed items and items of historical significance. There will be items that make you think, items that make you laugh and items that make you scratch your head," the astronaut's son Mark Armstrong said.
"I think he (Armstrong) would be pleased to be remembered as being part of a program that demonstrated amazing things can be achieved when people come together to dedicate themselves towards a common goal," another son, Rick Armstrong, said.
Armstrong, who passed away in 2012 aged 82 years, made history as the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969, and is remembered for the words he uttered in that moment.
"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," the astronaut said as he took the first steps on the Moon.
