Moon dust heading to auction after galactic court battle

July 20, 2017 at 12:12 a.m. | Updated July 20, 2017 at 12:15 a.m.

by Associated Press

The Apollo 11 Contingency Lunar Sample Return Bag used by astronaut Neil Armstrong, to be offered at auction, is displayed at Sotheby's, in New York, Thursday, July 13, 2017. The lunar dust plus some tiny rocks that Armstrong also collected are zipped up in a small bag and are worth an estimated $2 million to $4 million. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
The Apollo 11 Contingency Lunar Sample Return Bag used by astronaut Neil Armstrong, to be offered at auction, is displayed at Sotheby's, in New York, Thursday, July 13, 2017. The lunar dust plus some tiny rocks that Armstrong also collected are zipped up in a small bag and are worth an estimated $2 million to $4 million. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK (AP) - A bag containing traces of moon dust is heading to auction - surrounded by some fallout from a galactic court battle.

The collection bag, used by astronaut Neil Armstrong during the first manned mission to the moon in 1969, will be featured Thursday at a Sotheby's auction in New York City of items related to space voyages. The pre-sale estimate is $2 million to $4 million.

The artifact from the Apollo 11 mission was misidentified and sold at an online government auction. NASA fought to get it back.

In December, a federal judge ruled that it legally belonged to a Chicago-area woman who bought it in 2015 for $995.

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