KANSAS CITY (Legal Newsline) – A woman is seeking declaration from a federal court that a vial allegedly containing moon dust rightfully belongs to her.
Laura Murray Cicco filed a complaint on June 6 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas against The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) seeking declaratory judgment.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that in 1970 when she was 10, she was gifted a vial containing dust from the moon from astronaut Neil Armstrong. The suit states Armstrong was friends with her father, Tom Murray, and that testing has confirmed the vial contains lunar and terrestrial material.
The suit states that the defendant "has taken the position that all lunalogic material is property of NASA," but the plaintiff alleges it is not illegal to own or possess.
The plaintiff seeks judgment declaring her rightful and legal owner of the vial and its contents and vesting title her name. She is represented by Christopher M. McHugh of Seigfreid Bingham PC in Kansas City, Missouri.
U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas Case number 6:18-cv-01164-EFM-TJJ