Ed Mitchell (Apollo 14) sued by the government

[krashkart]

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.

....

"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.

Mitchell's lawyer, Donald Jacobson, said NASA management was aware of and approved Mitchell's ownership of the camera 40 years ago.
Source (http://news.yahoo.com/government-sues-apollo-14-astronaut-over-lunar-camera-204401390.html)

A sad state of affairs money-wise? :-?

[AVGWarhawk]

Going to be hard to prove NASA approved ownership of the camera 40 years ago. It is government property. I would say the tax payers would like the camera back. Put it on display at the Hazy Building. That is where it belongs anyway. Not some dark recess of someones collection in the basement.

[Platapus]

Mitchell's lawyer, Donald Jacobson, said NASA management was aware of and approved Mitchell's ownership of the camera 40 years ago.

I can't believe this could happen without some paperwork to document it.

[razark]

I can't believe this could happen without some paperwork to document it.
NASA paperwork? 40 years?

The way offices, people, and furniture change, finding a 40 year old document could be quite a challenge. The best chance would be for Mitchell to have the document somewhere.

(Of course, as I type this, I have a document signed and dated November 2, 1965 right next to me... :D)