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NASA Sues Former Astronaut Over Moon Camera

MIAMI (CBS4) – On the eve of closing out their 30 year space shuttle program, NASA has filed a suit against a former astronaut over a camera he brought back from the moon.

Former astronaut Edgar Mitchell, 80, said the camera he brought back from the Apollo 14 moon mission was given to him by NASA. Mitchell said he unbolted the camera from the lunar module before the astronauts returned to earth to preserve the tape inside. Mitchell says NASA later told him he could keep it.

NASA sued earlier this month contending it has no record that the camera was transferred to Mitchell.

In court papers filed in Florida federal court, Mitchell urged a judge to dismiss NASA's claims for the camera.

Mitchell is one of 12 people to walk on the moon. Since retiring in 1971, Mitchell has focused on exploring the mind, physics, space aliens and ways of linking religion with science.

(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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