Kicker: Suing for the moon

NICK EICHER, HOST: It was 1969 when Astronaut Neil Armstrong said these famous words.

ARMSTRONG: That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.

Now a Tennessee woman is taking one small step of her own: She’s suing NASA for the right to keep a small vial of moon dust.

Laura Cicco says that Armstrong was a family friend—and he gave the moondust to her mother back in the 1970s, along with a signed note, which has been authenticated by a handwriting expert.

NASA hasn’t tried to retrieve the dust yet—but the space agency has long maintained it is the rightful owner of all lunar material.

Now it may be up to the courts to decide.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

(AP photo) File photo of the moon.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.