FBI Grounds Moon Rock Auction
The FBI seized a moon rock Friday that an auction house had expected to sell for several hundred thousand dollars.
Agents took the rock from Phillips Fine Art Auctioneers in Manhattan in response to a subpoena from a federal grand jury, the FBI said in a statement. A spokesman for the agency refused to provide further details.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration considers all moon rocks to be U.S. government property. It was unclear who was selling the moon rock or how that person came to have it. But the rock was reportedly from the same 1969 mission and about the same weight as one that vanished in 1970.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
