The legality possessing or acquiring Apollo moon rocks

In My Humble Opinion
4

SDMB discussion on the subject

@Schnitte started this ball rolling by posting in the lost artworks and treasures thread that a lot of moon rocks are missing, but that some have been recovered, in particular through the efforts of lawyer and former NASA investigator Joseph Gutheinz. Gutheinz was responsible for the recovery of the Honduran sample mentioned above.

@Omar_Little posted that a friend of his has jewelry made from moon rocks collected by her father, one of the 12 Apollo moonwalkers.

@DrDeth asserted that possession of moon rocks is illegal, which started the whole hijack, with @markn_1 and @Schnitte claiming that mere possession is not illegal. @DrDeth replied, and at this point I chimed in with a hasty post that @markn_1 pointed out did not make the point I thought it did. I also mentioned the first Nancy Lee Carlson case.

The back-and-forth continued until I found the OIG report mentioned in the OP, and @Chronos asked us to knock off the hijack and start a new thread.

Which I have just done.

It seems to me that the issues we raised in those posts fall into two basic categories, legal and factual. After I have posted them here, I plan to e-mail Kevin Underhill with the legal questions, and Robert Pearlman and Joseph Gutheinz with the legal and practical ones. With any luck, we may get a response from one or more of them.

In the meantime, we can obviously discuss the questions, and perhaps our resident lawyers and space experts will chime in.

Legal

With respect to Apollo moon material,

  1. Is simple possession of moon rocks illegal?
    Kevin Underhill (lawyer and Lowering the Bar blogger) says no.

    As I have written before, it’s just that moon rocks are so difficult to come by (assuming you aren’t on the Moon) that any private citizen who’s got one probably stole it or got it from someone who did. Possession isn’t illegal, but stealing is.

  2. What laws cover possession of moon rocks?

  3. What laws cover transfer (sale, gift, etc.) of moon rocks?

  4. Could an Apollo astronaut legally have kept some moon rocks for himself?

    • Pearlman says NASA says no. See Joann Davis case.

    • Davis search warrant says Armstrong claims that he didn’t.

    • H.R. 4158 (2012 law) says astronauts cannot have a claim to lunar material. Can it apply ex post facto?

  5. What would be the legal status of someone who found, without deceit or criminal behavior, one of the lost Goodwill moon rocks? Pearlman again (link above):

    Once gifted, each of the lunar sample displays became the property of the recipient entity and therefore was no longer subject to being tracked by NASA.
    […]
    As property of the nation or state, the Apollo 11 lunar samples are now subject to the laws for public gifts as set by that country. In most cases, as in the United States, public gifts cannot be legally transferred to individual ownership without the passage of additional legislation.

    [Emphasis mine.]

    • Obviously depends on the laws of the jurisdiction.

    • See the unusual case of a Florida man who found Louisiana’s Apollo 17 plaque and returned it anonymously.

Factual

  1. Could an Apollo astronaut practically have kept or otherwise obtained some lunar material (e.g., Cicco’s dust, or @Omar_Little ’s friend’s jewelry) for himself? How?
  2. Several sources claim that 250 Goodwill plaques were made for Apollo 11 and 250 for Apollo 17. But according to various lists, less than 200 of each were presented to US states and other countries. Were 250 of each type of Lucite lunar sample buttons made? If so, what happened to the rest? Is the Joann Davis paperweight one of them?
  3. If not, what is the source of the Joann Davis paperweight?
  4. Is there evidence that astronauts, NASA employees, or others had unmonitored access to lunar material and could have taken some and improperly dispersed it to other people?
  5. For the experts: What is your opinion about the Cicco material and other claims that Apollo astronauts gave lunar material as gifts?
  6. Can anyone other than NASA authenticate lunar material?
  7. Can alleged lunar material embedded in Lucite be reliably authenticated non-destructively?
  8. How easily could someone make “lunar dust” that appears real? Could it pass authentication?

I have a number of thoughts and ideas about these questions, but I think you’ve all heard enough from me for now.