Houston has a problem as Apollo hero sells checklist

By JACQUI GODDARD in MIAMI
Published on Wednesday 11 January 2012 00:00

NASA’S top official has blamed “fundamental misunderstandings and unclear policies” for a stand-off over the ownership of Apollo-era memorabilia that has left astronauts complaining that the space agency impugned their integrity.

Charlie Bolden promised to resolve the showdown that has pitted Nasa’s lawyers against veterans of the 1969-72 Apollo Moon programme, in a dispute over whether the astronauts have the right to sell mementoes from their missions.

“These are American heroes, fellow astronauts and personal friends who have acted in good faith and we have committed to work together to find the right policy and legal paths forward to address outstanding ownership questions,” said Mr Bolden, a former shuttle commander and now Nasa administrator.

The issue flared after a checklist from the Apollo 13 expedition in 1970 that had been in the possession of the mission’s commander, Jim Lovell, for the past four decades fetched $388,000 (£250,000) at auction.

Nasa’s lawyers have blocked its handover, questioning whether Mr Lovell – whose mission nearly ended in tragedy after an explosion crippled it 200,000 miles from Earth, prompting crewmate Jack Swigert to report to Mission Control “Houston, we’ve had a problem” – had the right to sell it in the first place.

“After 42 years, Apollo 13 still has a problem,” Mr Lovell, 83, said in an interview, stating that Nasa gave him the checklist, which bears the handwritten calculations he made during the life-and-death struggle to limp the spacecraft home.

Having previously allowed its Moon-shot veterans to keep, pass on, donate or sell property from their missions, the sudden intervention by Nasa’s lawyers has prompted an outcry.

Gene Cernan, who in 1972 became the last person to walk on the Moon, complained: “It was given to us, it was transferred to us. We didn’t have time for paperwork, we were going to the Moon at the time.”

He added: “The thing that bothers me and several others is the impingement on our personal integrity. For almost half a century now, we have had the trust of the American people and now we’re being accused of violating that trust.”

Astronauts say Nasa allowed them to keep certain artifacts such as flight manuals and spacecraft equipment when they returned to Earth – a claim born out by archived correspondence.

What remains legally unclear, however, is whether the items were in fact on indefinite loan, with Nasa retaining ownership.

“Part of the problem was that Nasa didn’t have a clear policy or documentation that established title to a number of these items,” Robert Pearlman, a leading authority on space memorabilia, told The Scotsman.

Questioning why Nasa had allowed previous sales and donations to go unchallenged, he added: “In theory, Nasa shouldn’t care about how much an item sells for. But in this case Nasa’s general counsel acted upon seeing the high sales price. In my opinion, that’s wrong.”

Over the years, astronauts have donated thousands of space-flown souvenirs to museums, colleges and causes, including the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, helping it to raise significant sums to provide scholarships in science, technology, engineering and maths.

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