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Flown Apollo 12 Lunar Module Beta cloth temporary stowage bag, or 'purse,' measuring approximately 13˝ x 10˝ when folded flat and expanding to a depth of 9.5˝, signed and flight-certified on the front panel in black felt tip, "This Stowage Bag, Serial Number 0015, was mounted in front of me at waist height and I used it to stow, temporarily, my check lists, food items, and other articles I used in our Lunar Module Intrepid during landing, our stay on the lunar surface, and our ascent from the moon. Alan Bean, Apollo 12 LMP." The bag is stamped below with part numbers: "LDW 340-53444-1, SN0015."
Designed for use inside the Apollo Lunar Module, the bag features two mounting pins at the top, spring-loaded hinges, and a plastic ring secured to the reverse by a strap. During launch, it was stowed in the lower pocket of the Interim Stowage Assembly. Bean referred to this piece in a 1991 interview with NASA's Lunar Surface Journal: "The purse was a white, cloth bag that was up there under the computer DSKY that we just threw loose items in. In fact, I've still got it at home. It had a snap (closure) and you opened it up and threw stuff in and closed it. That's why we called it a purse. It was also shaped like a purse. It was made out of beta cloth."
Bean added: "If we look at it from the ends, we see that the metal frame goes about half way down the center of the pyramid and is hinged, and the two U-shaped frame members are hinged. So what we have is an inverted-U-shaped frame sewn into the top of the Beta Cloth when viewed from the front; and we've got a similar inverted-U-shaped frame sewn in the back. These two meet about half way down the 'pyramid' on each end. They are spring-loaded so that either Pete or I could reach over and pull the purse open, throw something in, let it go and it would spring shut."
This style of stowage bag became known among the astronaut corps as the 'McDivitt Purse,' after Apollo 9 commander James McDivitt, who developed the bag during training to hold items being moved in and out of use during a mission without requiring full restowage each time. The design was subsequently adopted for use across the Apollo missions. In fine condition.
