NEIL ARMSTRONG ARTIFACTS TO BE SOLD AT AUCTION

Astronaut’s family makes more than 2,000 items available.

Bidding will begin next week on a collection of Neil Armstrong’s personal memorabilia and artifacts — including fragments of the Wright brothers’ 1903 flyer taken to the moon and back by the first man to set foot there.

More than 2,000 items are being sold at auction by the family of Armstrong, a favorite Ohio son from Wapakoneta and the Apollo 11 crew commander.

“There will be flown items, autographed items and items of historical significance,” said the famous astronaut’s son, Mark Armstrong. “There will be items that make you think, items that make you laugh and items that make you scratch your head.”

The Armstrong Family Collection includes pieces of a wing and propeller from the Wright brothers’ plane that made the world’s first powered flight and flew again to the moon in July 1969 aboard Apollo 11.

A silk 1869-1969 centennial flag from Armstrong’s alma mater, Purdue University, is among the items that went to the moon and back.

The collection chronicling the life and career of Armstrong, who lived outside Lebanon after leaving NASA, includes his Boy Scouts cap, a gold pin from Gemini VIII, and historic correspondence about the planning that went into the moon mission.

Items will be sold by Dallas-based Heritage Auctions in a series of sales: November 1-2, 2018; May 9-10, 2019; and November 2019. Items in Part 1 of the Armstrong Family Collection sale can be found at the Heritage Auctions website. Armstrong died in 2012 at 82. “He was never about himself, so I would expect that he didn’t give much thought about how he would be remembered,” son Rick Armstrong said. “With that being said, I think he 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 toward a common goal.”

CHRIS STEWART/STAFF Wapakoneta native Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, was 82 when he died in 2012. His family is auctioning off personal artifacts, including his early Gemini flight suit (left), a fragment from the 1903 Wright Flyer (top right) and his Boy Scout cap (bottom right).