After the sale NASA contacted both Heritage Auctions and commander James Lovell to confirm Lovell's posession of the piece. The sale was suspended and the president of Heritage Auctions, Greg Rohan, informed the press that the lot in question would be strored in the company's Dallas headquarters safety vault until the end of the trial. Rohan also stated that Lovell presented documents respecting property rights, as is a standard procedure at Heritage Auctions. 

The texas bidding room, which each month increases its offer and presence in the market, stablishing some of the most lucrative results in the United States, has dealed on several occasions with space equiptment and memorabilia belonging to astronauts. It seems that NASA via e-mail informed the auction house that there was nothing to sustain Lovell's property rights concerning the precious checklist, and alerted that it may have to take prossesion of the lot in order to resolve the legal trial.

Whats more NASA has already raised questions concerning two other lots sold at Heritage Auctions. Among them is a glove that was sold for 19.000 dollars worn by Alan Shepard in Apollo 14. It is well known that NASA seized the Edgar Mitchell's camera and later donated it to the Space and Air Museum in Washington. Mitchell sustains that NASA officials assured him and his colleagues that they could keep their equiptment so long as they reported what items they had in their possesion.

It is not the first time that collecting has played an important role air space navigation. In 1971 Apolloo 15 astronauts made a deal with a German stamp dealer, an later sold the stamps after their mission for 1.500 dollars each.Alfonso Carbajo Agrasar