U.S. sues astronaut over space camera

A federal judge in Florida has refused Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell's request to dismiss a lawsuit that seeks the return of a space camera.

By Nuclear Power Daily Editorial Team · Editorial process

Published October 4, 2011

A federal judge in Florida has refused Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell's request to dismiss a lawsuit that seeks the return of a space camera.

The 80-year-old Mitchell got slapped with the government suit after he tried to sell a data acquisition camera he brought back from the moon in 1971 for $80,000, The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post reported.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Hurley rejected Mitchell's argument that the government waited too long to get the camera back and that the camera was a gift.

"It is well settled that the United States is not bound by (four-year) state statutes of limitations," Hurley wrote in a ruling Monday.

He also said Mitchell would have to prove that the camera was a gift.

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Nuclear Power Daily Editorial Team

The Nuclear Power Daily Editorial Team produces content across our two editorial pillars: space industry news and Mind & Meaning. We cover launches, missions, satellites, defense, and the technology of getting humans to space, alongside the psychology of ambition, isolation, and meaning under extremes. Articles reflect our team's collective editorial process, source verification, drafting, technical review, and editing, rather than a single writer's work. Nuclear Power Daily takes editorial responsibility for content under this byline. For more on how we work, see our editorial policy.