Laura Cicco claims that the gray dust in a test tube vial she possesses is actually moon dust given to her by astronaut, Neil Armstrong, when she was ten years old. Cicco has filed a lawsuit in Kansas seeking declaratory relief to pre-emptively keep NASA from seizing her moon dust. Scientific experts think Cicco is mistaken – there’s no way Armstrong gave her moon dust from his time on the moon.
Cicco claims that she is sure the vial contains moondust. It was given to her by Neil Armstrong, who also signed the back of her dad’s business card. The signature has been authenticated. But what about the moondust? Tests have been done, but they are inconclusive. One test found “no evidence to rule out a lunar origin” and another found it to be similar to “average crust of earth.” Aeronautic experts say they would be extremely surprised if Armstrong would give moondust away to any ten year old just because her father was a business acquaintance of his.
Reason to Be Paranoid
The space agency filed a motion in late August to dismiss the lawsuit on various legal grounds, contending that it’s a hypothetical issue because NASA has never tried to confiscate the alleged artifact, which is being kept in a secret location in Kansas. NASA does consider all lunar material to be official government property, and this wouldn’t be the first time NASA confiscated lunar material.
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