Photo: Laura Cicco / The Washington Post
If you’re friends with a NASA astronaut, you’d best make sure whatever memorabilia they hand you over remain in your possession. Theoretically, they’re property of the US government.
Knowing this, Laura Cicco from Tennessee is proactively suing NASA to keep a vial of Moon dust Armstrong allegedly gave her mother. As of the time of writing, the agency is yet to claim the dust, but Cicco tells the Washington Post that such a move is imminent.
You see, NASA’s Lunar Allocations Handbook clearly states that all lunar samples are property of the US government and can only be used for authorized purposes. That means that, even if Armstrong risked his life during a mission and, while on it, he brought back home a sample of Moon dust, NASA owns it.
However, Armstrong gifted the vial to Cicco’s father, whom he’d been colleagues with. She tells the Post that she has Armstrong’s autograph on the wall but it wasn’t until recently that she discovered the vial of dust. It comes with a note that reads, “To Laura Ann Murray — Best of Luck — Neil Armstrong Apollo 11.”
Because Cicco knows NASA goes after all lunar samples since many such cases have been duly reported in the media, she’s suing them to assert her rights over it. Her attorney, Christopher McHugh, confirms for the Post that the suit has been filed.
He also says Armstrong’s signature on the note has been verified by handwriting experts, while samples of the dust in the vial have been analyzed and ruled as possibly originating from the Moon’s surface.
In the suit, McHugh mentions the sting NASA officials set up for a 74-year-old woman in 2011, who had lunar memorabilia from her husband, an Apollo 11 engineer. These included rocks, sand and a piece of Apollo 11’s “heat shield” and she was trying to sell them.
Authorities eventually detained and charged the old woman with contraband of stolen government property, but NASA eventually settled privately after it was proven that she was the rightful owner of the items.
“If you look at the Davis case, what NASA is essentially saying is that lunar material in private hands is stolen property. And that’s just not true,” McHugh says. “This is not stolen property. Laura shouldn’t be afraid that NASA is going to come knocking on her door and barge in and try and take the vial.”
You see, NASA’s Lunar Allocations Handbook clearly states that all lunar samples are property of the US government and can only be used for authorized purposes. That means that, even if Armstrong risked his life during a mission and, while on it, he brought back home a sample of Moon dust, NASA owns it.
However, Armstrong gifted the vial to Cicco’s father, whom he’d been colleagues with. She tells the Post that she has Armstrong’s autograph on the wall but it wasn’t until recently that she discovered the vial of dust. It comes with a note that reads, “To Laura Ann Murray — Best of Luck — Neil Armstrong Apollo 11.”
Because Cicco knows NASA goes after all lunar samples since many such cases have been duly reported in the media, she’s suing them to assert her rights over it. Her attorney, Christopher McHugh, confirms for the Post that the suit has been filed.
He also says Armstrong’s signature on the note has been verified by handwriting experts, while samples of the dust in the vial have been analyzed and ruled as possibly originating from the Moon’s surface.
In the suit, McHugh mentions the sting NASA officials set up for a 74-year-old woman in 2011, who had lunar memorabilia from her husband, an Apollo 11 engineer. These included rocks, sand and a piece of Apollo 11’s “heat shield” and she was trying to sell them.
Authorities eventually detained and charged the old woman with contraband of stolen government property, but NASA eventually settled privately after it was proven that she was the rightful owner of the items.
“If you look at the Davis case, what NASA is essentially saying is that lunar material in private hands is stolen property. And that’s just not true,” McHugh says. “This is not stolen property. Laura shouldn’t be afraid that NASA is going to come knocking on her door and barge in and try and take the vial.”
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