National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) officials confirmed last week that they had mistakenly auctioned a bag used by astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong during the Apollo 11
The rare artifact, which was used to collect samples of moon rock during the first manned lunar mission back in 1969, was sold as a result of a clerical error, TechTimes reported.
In a government auction held last year, Nancy Carlson from Inverness, Illinois,USA, bought the white bag for just $995. NASA only realised its blunder when the woman sent the bag to the Johnson Space Center in Houston for authentication.
Upon multiple verifications, the space governing body decided to take possession of the artifact—for which Carlson has sued NASA, seeking the return of the bag.
The US government also acknowledged the mistake and described the bag as a "a rare artifact, if not a national treasure."
The bag in question was part of a collection of priceless items that was seized from the home of Max Ary, director of Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, the report said. He was later found guilty of stealing and selling off a number of the artefacts that were given on loan to the space centre.
http://technology.inquirer.net/51015/nasa-accidentally-sold-apollo-11-moon-landing-bag-in-an-auction
-- submitted from IRC
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Tuesday August 16 2016, @04:19PM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher [wikipedia.org]
I should have been more specific, though her name been in the news a lot after the Brexit vote.