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A piece of moon rock the size of a finger nail is at the centre of a legal battle in the U.S.A. The rock was collected from the lunar surface by the astronauts of Apollo 17 in 1972, encased in Lucite, and presented as a gift by President Nixon to the Honduran government the following year. Many lunar rocks were given as similar goodwill gifts to other governments around the world. The lunar rock given to the UK government, for example, is now on display at the Natural History Museum in London. The Honduras rock, however, disappeared and was eventually purchased by an American businessman.
The piece of Moon rock was seized back by U.S. government officials in 1998 who are contesting the ownership of the sample so it can be returned it to the Honduras government. Lunar samples, particularly those collected on the Apollo missions fetch astronomically high prices from collectors and thus millions of dollars are at stake in the current court case. In most cases owning lunar rocks from the Apollo missions is illegal and only where the transfer of ownership from NASA can be shown through paperwork have U.S. authorities been content with private ownership. The Honduran government has called for the return of the sample describing it as "the patrimony of the government and people of Honduras."
More info: CNN Article
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