Government sues Apollo 14 astronaut over lunar camera (Edgar Mitchell)

Yahoo ^ | 6/30/11 | Terry Baynes - Reuters

[NormsRevenge]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government has sued a former NASA astronaut to recover a camera used to explore the moon's surface during the 1971 Apollo 14 mission after seeing it slated for sale in a New York auction.

The lawsuit, filed in Miami federal court on Wednesday, accuses Edgar Mitchell of illegally possessing the camera and attempting to sell it for profit.

In March, NASA learned that the British auction house Bonhams was planning to sell the camera at an upcoming Space History Sale, according to the suit.

The item was labeled "Movie Camera from the Lunar Surface" and billed as one of two cameras from the Apollo 14's lunar module Antares. The lot description said the item came "directly from the collection" of pilot Edgar Mitchell and had a pre-sale estimate of $60,000 to $80,000, the suit said.

Mitchell was a lunar module pilot on Apollo 14, which launched its nine-day mission in 1971 under the command of Alan Shepard. The sixth person to walk on the moon, Mitchell is now retired and runs a website selling his autographed picture.

He has made headlines in the past for his stated belief in the existence of extraterrestrial life.

"All equipment and property used during NASA operations remains the property of NASA unless explicitly released or transferred to another party," the government suit said, adding NASA had no record of the camera being given to Mitchell.

The suit said the government had made repeated requests to Mitchell and his lawyer to return the camera but received no response.

[DejaJude]

Next time I see him I will convey your feelings, Thanks, :-)

Thank you. I have nothing but esteem for all those that risked everything for all of us.

[DejaJude]

"If NASA gave.....I wouldn't begrudge him selling it."
Same deal with the camera....it wasn't his to sell.

Then it also wasn't NASA's to give. The American people paid for it. Were we asked about what these brave people could or could not receive for their service? To "give" something to someone with stipulations that they can't do anything with it without permission is to demand they store it (without charge) until they want it back. It stinks, and NASA comes out the bad guy in this.

[diogenes ghost]

"Then it also wasn't NASA's to give."

Of course it is.

All agencies have guidelines on how to dispose of damaged/obsolete/excess/used articles. So it IS their responsibility to insure that employees/vendors/users do not enrich themselves from improper acquisition of same.

It seems NASA was unaware he had kept the camera. That does not change the legality.

Each astronaut was given the opportunity to carry some mementos on flights, and also had lots of other items that were theirs to dispose of as they wished.

I'm sure this guy sold most of his legal stuff, but needed more. He was SELLING his autographs (some hero, huh?).

Tough to see one of the "Right Stuff" guys fall on hard times, but that does not excuse his behavior.