• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'

2

Current price of oil as of June 22, 2026

3

Current price of silver as of Monday, June 22, 2026

1

Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'

2

Current price of oil as of June 22, 2026

3

Current price of silver as of Monday, June 22, 2026
‪NASA‬

Woman Sues NASA Over a Vial of Moon Dust Allegedly Given to Her by Neil Armstrong

By
Sarah Gray
Sarah Gray
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Sarah Gray
Sarah Gray
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 12, 2018, 6:34 PM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

A Tennessee woman is suing NASA over a vial of alleged moon dust.

Laura Cicco said in her lawsuit, filed last week in federal court in Kansas, that astronaut Neil Armstrong, commander of the Apollo 11 mission, and the first man on the moon, had given the vial to her through her mother when she was 10. An accompanying note from Armstrong says, “To Laura Ann Murray – Best of Luck – Neil Armstrong Apollo 11.”

“Astronaut Neil Armstrong gifted the vial of lunar dust at issue to Laura Ann Murray, now Laura Murray Cicco, when she was a child, and she is the rightful and legal owner of the vial and its contents,” the lawsuit claims.

Armstrong and Cicco’s father Tom Murray were friends during a time when they both lived in Cincinnati, according to the lawsuit. Murray served as a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, and according to the Washington Post, Murray and Armstrong (who was a Naval pilot during the Korean war) were members of a secret pilot society known as the Quiet Birdmen.

Cicco, who kept the note, found the vial five years ago after her parents both passed away, and she’s determined to keep it.

The suit is a preemptive one. There is no law that says private citizens cannot own lunar material. However, in 2011, officials staged a sting to retrieve lunar material (which they suspected was stolen) from a 74-year-old woman, Joann Davis. Davis was reportedly given the material — two paperweights, one containing a small lunar rock, and the other containing a piece of the Apollo 11 heat shield — from her late husband, who worked as an engineer on the Apollo 11 mission. Davis was not charged, and she filed a suit against the agency in 2013.

“The National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA has taken the position that all lunalogic material is the property of NASA,” the Cicco’s lawsuit claims, citing the Davis case.

In terms of the material itself, tests performed at the behest of Cicco’s attorney Christopher M. McHugh, by a chemist found that “it would be difficult to rule out lunar origin.” Two tests—x-ray fluorescence (XRF) and x-ray diffraction (XRD)—were performed on the dust to see if it was indeed from the moon.

One test found that the dust “mineralogy is consistent with the known composition of lunar regolith,” according to the suit. The XRF test, however, showed that it was similar to “average crust of Earth.”

Fortune contacted NASA for comment and it awaiting a response. In a statement to the Washington Post, the agency said it would not be appropriate to comment on the pending litigation.

About the Author
By Sarah Gray
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

Mortgage rates today, June 23, 2026
Personal Financemortgages
Mortgage rates today, June 23, 2026
By Glen Luke FlanaganJune 23, 2026
2 hours ago
Current refi mortgage rates report for June 23, 2026
Personal Financemortgage rates
Current refi mortgage rates report for June 23, 2026
By Glen Luke FlanaganJune 23, 2026
2 hours ago
Current ARM mortgage rates report for June 23, 2026
Personal FinanceReal Estate
Current ARM mortgage rates report for June 23, 2026
By Glen Luke FlanaganJune 23, 2026
2 hours ago
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his resignation Monday.
PoliticsU.K.
A decade on from the Brexit vote, the U.K. will have 7 prime ministers, hit a demographic trap, and taken a 6% hit to its economy
By Tristan BoveJune 23, 2026
2 hours ago
uk
EconomyUnited Kingdom
Meet a British businessman who doesn’t regret his Brexit vote. He says rejoining the EU would be ‘re-boarding the Titanic’ while giving up life vests
By Danica Kirka and The Associated PressJune 22, 2026
11 hours ago
toy
Arts & EntertainmentBox office
A $1 million horror film and a 30-year-old franchise are saving Hollywood’s summer
By Jake Coyle and The Associated PressJune 22, 2026
11 hours ago

Most Popular

Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'
Success
Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'
By Sydney LakeJune 21, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 22, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 22, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 22, 2026
20 hours ago
Current price of silver as of Monday, June 22, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, June 22, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 22, 2026
20 hours ago
NBC’s Tom Llamas climbed from 15-year-old intern to the top anchor chair—and still isn’t satisfied: ‘If you're not growing, you're dying'
Success
NBC’s Tom Llamas climbed from 15-year-old intern to the top anchor chair—and still isn’t satisfied: ‘If you're not growing, you're dying'
By Preston ForeJune 21, 2026
2 days ago
The Fed is fed up with inflation and will bring down the hammer with a series of rate hikes this year, reversing earlier cuts, BofA says
Economy
The Fed is fed up with inflation and will bring down the hammer with a series of rate hikes this year, reversing earlier cuts, BofA says
By Jason MaJune 22, 2026
16 hours ago
The man who lived through the fall of the Soviet Union and helped wealthy Chinese move to Canada sees a familiar picture in America
Success
The man who lived through the fall of the Soviet Union and helped wealthy Chinese move to Canada sees a familiar picture in America
By Nick LichtenbergJune 17, 2026
6 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.