NASA Moon Camera Lawsuit Settled Out Of Court
It looks like the planets and stars have aligned in the Smithsonian Institute's favor.
It seems the lawsuit filed by NASA against former Apollo astronaut Edgar Mitchell, over possession of a camera Mitchell brought back from the Moon, won't light up the sky after all. NASA and Mitchell have settled their dispute out of court.
The dispute achieved liftoff in June, when NASA learned that Mitchell had offered the camera - a 16 mm movie cam originally attached to the lunar module of Apollo 14 and intended to be destroyed along with the module upon the Astronauts' return to earth - up for auction via British auction house Bonhams. Alleging that Mitchell had never been granted formal ownership of the useless, obsolete device they didn't care about, NASA lawyers launched an injunction that stopped the auction, then filed suit to force Mitchell to return it to them.
Mitchell quickly filed to have the suit dismissed. His argument was that he acquired the camera in accordance with existing NASA policies, and furthermore that the 40 years in between his trip to the moon and the auction were sufficient to prove ownership. The court ruled in favor of NASA on October 7th, allowing the lawsuit to proceed ever upward. That was how things stood until this morning, when the potentially stellar court battle ended not with a blast off, but with a mission cancellation as the two parties reached an agreement in which Mitchell will "relinquish all claims of ownership, legal title, or dominion." The deal must still receive final approval from presiding judge, at which point the camera will be returned to NASA and reportedly donated to the Smithsonian for preservation.
Though NASA has never disclosed precisely what distinguished this camera from the dozens of other mementos brought back from the Apollo moon missions, there appears to be no connection to a sound stage in New Mexico.
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And the heroic astronaut gets no compensation whatsoever for his troubles, and the camera he saved from destruction will be donated to clear the bad press NASA got.
What a load of bullshit.
I'm really disappointed in NASA. Heck! the man went to the moon and they're bitching about a camera!?
I wonder how a useless 16mm movie camera is going to affect NASA to such an extent. Sure, other opposing countries in terms of space exploration might get their hands on it, but seriously, it's a tiny camera! Even if they build their own and use it for space exploration, wouldn't that allow more data to be gathered and further advance our knowledge of astronomy and science? Isn't that what NASA was built upon?
I really didn't like the word plays in this article; they were very silly and completely unnecessary.
I also don't think NASA should have really gone to court with a former moon lander over a camera they never cared about. That also is unnecessary.
no joke it was our tax dollars that funded the camera in the first place along with the whole space program. Sooooooooooo we say let him keep the camera, quit acting like 2-year olds. the camera wouldn't have been built in the first place if it wasn't for the people in this country that supported you. You act like the keys to NASA control center are inside that thing.
Whoever buys it, will test it for moon dust (yes, moon dust) and prove if it was ever on the moon, or not.
NASA = Not Another Selfish Astronaut As in let the guy keep the camera for goodness sake.
I wonder how a useless 16mm movie camera is going to affect NASA to such an extent. Sure, other opposing countries in terms of space exploration might get their hands on it, but seriously, it's a tiny camera! Even if they build their own and use it for space exploration, wouldn't that allow more data to be gathered and further advance our knowledge of astronomy and science? Isn't that what NASA was built upon?
i thought nasa was built on, and i quote "**** the russians, we will do this better and rub their faces in it on a global scale."
no joke it was our tax dollars that funded the camera in the first place along with the whole space program. Sooooooooooo we say let him keep the camera, quit acting like 2-year olds. the camera wouldn't have been built in the first place if it wasn't for the people in this country that supported you. You act like the keys to NASA control center are inside that thing.
ever wonder about the irs?
lets look at that word
the irs...
theirs
yea, you kind of see the tax payers funded things being greedy when the people who collect are called theirs.
Whoever buys it, will test it for moon dust (yes, moon dust) and prove if it was ever on the moon, or not.
i honestly believe we went, but you make a good point, it could be conclusively proven if we went or not.
Nasa never went to the moon...
>>"
* this may double post, sorry if it does.
I wonder how a useless 16mm movie camera is going to affect NASA to such an extent. Sure, other opposing countries in terms of space exploration might get their hands on it, but seriously, it's a tiny camera! Even if they build their own and use it for space exploration, wouldn't that allow more data to be gathered and further advance our knowledge of astronomy and science? Isn't that what NASA was built upon?
i thought nasa was built on, and i quote "(bleep) the russians, we will do this better and rub their faces in it on a global scale."
no joke it was our tax dollars that funded the camera in the first place along with the whole space program. Sooooooooooo we say let him keep the camera, quit acting like 2-year olds. the camera wouldn't have been built in the first place if it wasn't for the people in this country that supported you. You act like the keys to NASA control center are inside that thing.
ever wonder about the irs?
lets look at that word
the irs...
theirs
yea, you kind of see the tax payers funded things being greedy when the people who collect are called theirs.
Whoever buys it, will test it for moon dust (yes, moon dust) and prove if it was ever on the moon, or not.
i honestly believe we went, but you make a good point, it could be conclusively proven if we went or not.
wtf, why should he get to keep the camera and pawned it at some auction house for cash? the camera belonged to NASA, this dude decided to keep it, then tried to pawn in 40 years later. fuck off, space memorabilia belongs to the people, NASA did the right thing to take it, give it to a smithsonian so everybody can look at it instead of some snob british baron in his mansion.
and the dude got to go to space, i would go to space for free if somebody offered, no need to call me heroic.
And the heroic astronaut gets no compensation whatsoever for his troubles, and the camera he saved from destruction will be donated to clear the bad press NASA got.What a load of bullshit.
Yep!
It will take awhile for NASA to live it down
No press is bad press.
It's a little Decepticon, ask Buzz Aldrin!
Hahaha, i am sure Mr Mitchel got a compensation, because i guess, he had a good lawsuit from his side about the ownership and the chances were 50-50 to ridicule NASA. I guess he was compensated well enough for not going to court. And good for him, it is sad to hear an astronaut to have financial issues, these people work for a lot of years for just 2-3 missions then most of them go on retirement..
Also, just to add,
imagine if that camera had some footage of ...something strange and..nasa didn't want it go public from the auction buyer? (saw some X-files episodes lately hehehe)
Nah... It's not that tiny. It was the 70's, after all.
Maybe there was something recorded on it.
An orgy on the moon perhaps?
Space-porn? That's gotta beat midget-horse-preggers any day
NASA must be taking lessons from Apple.
didn't surprise me...lol...
Nasa never went to the moon... >>"
Oh noooooo! The conspiracy theorists are everywhere.
I served in the US Navy. Does that mean I should be able to keep the destroyer I was on or the .45 cal handgun I used as a memento ?
Talk about an obscene waste of taxpayers money and an insult to all astronauts & their families who devoted years of their lives to making the space program a success. Shame on NASA for stealing this camera from Ed Mitchell, if it wasn't for him bringing it back from the moon, none of these would exist because NASA considered this an expendable item. Think about all of the other artifacts returned by astronauts that will never see the light of day because of NASA's greed.
To the conspiracy imbeciles out there who say the US never landed men on the moon, try opening a book or checking out the photos from the latest Lunar Orbiter missions that clearly show the landing sites. Those who don't believe we landed on the moon also believe in Big Foot, little green men, area 51, Kim Kardashian's wedding was true love and Paris Hilton is a member of MENSA.
[citation][nom]serious dude[/nom]wtf, why should he get to keep the camera .../citation]
NASA was going to abandon it and leave it behind. Astronaut should have been able to make the case that his was simply salvaging abandoned gear.
And hector, your destroyer wasn't abandoned and, at least in the Army, weapons are controlled serial numbered items. They may have let you keep the.45, but they didn't have to.
Oh...the astronaut submitted to NASA, I see. Poor fellow.