It is a known fact how Neil Armstrong took a big leap for the entire mankind when he became the first man to step on the moon in 1969, nearly fifty years ago.  Neil Armstrong was an American astronaut and commander of the Apollo 11.

Recently, Armstrong is once again in the news in relation to a lawsuit over moon dust which is being claimed by a woman named Laura.

Laura Murray Cicco of Tennessee has filed suit (pdf) in Kansas federal court seeking a declaratory judgment that she is the rightful owner of a vial of moon dust she received from Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong via her parents.

Laura claims that when she was about ten-years old, her mother gave her a glass vial with a rubber stopper full of light grey dust, and one of her father’s business cards.

Her father Tom Murray was a top pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII and friends with Neil Armstrong. On the back of the business card was a note from Armstrong that said, “To Laura Ann Murray – Best of Luck – Neil Armstrong Apollo 11.” She claims that her mother told her the vial contained dust from the moon.

To much amazement, the signature of Armstrong on the card has been authenticated by an expert. Moreover, the laboratory test shows that glass vial contains lunar material.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA has taken the position that all lunalogic material is the property of NASA.

The plaintiff in Cicco v. NASA wants the court to declare in advance that her moon dust isn’t contraband. Her filing argues:

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA has taken the position that all lunalogic material is the property of NASA. There is no law against private persons owning lunar material. Lunar material is not contraband. It is not illegal to own or possess.

NASA hasn’t responded to the filing yet. Its stated position, articulated in the 2014 case Davis v. United States, is “that private persons cannot own lunar material.”

In the case, Davis v. United States, NASA’s position was recognized “that private persons cannot own lunar material”.

The legal position here is that there is no law against private persons owning lunar material. Lunar material is not contraband. It is not illegal to own or possess.

According to the facts asserted by Laura, Astronaut Neil Armstrong gifted the vial of lunar dust to Laura Ann Murray, now Laura Murray Cicco, when she was a child, and she is the rightful and legal owner of the vial and its contents.

And based on these facts, now Laura Murray Cicco seeks unfettered ownership and has requested a jury trial in the matter.