We will soon have the chance to buy a piece of space exploration history. Neil Armstrong's collection of mementos will be auctioned. Mr Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon, on July 20, 1969. Items from that lunar landing will go under the auctioneer's hammer, including a US flag and medals given to NASA astronauts. The auction house thinks the sale will be very popular. It said: "Space is one of the very, very few categories that every single person seems to be interested in....You show somebody something from the space program, and they are fascinated by it."
Neil Armstrong kept his many space souvenirs in his house in Ohio. His son Mark said his father never talked about what he wanted to be done with his collection of space mementos. He said: "I don't think he spent much time thinking about it. He did save all the items, so he obviously felt they were worth saving." Mark and his brother decided to auction the items to share their father's legacy. They restored many of the items. They said it was becoming increasingly difficult to identify some things. The number of living people connected to the Apollo 11 mission was decreasing.