Earlier this year, NASA conducted an operation to get back a small piece of moon rock... from a 74-year-old woman who claims the artifact was given to her late husband, a space engineer, by famed astronaut and moonwalked Neil Armstrong, The Associated Press reported.

The woman, Joann Davis,said she was trying to sell the rock--reportedly about the size of a grain of rice--to raise money to help her sick son.

It is illegal to sell space materials, the AP noted, because the government considers anything gathered on missions to be government property.

It's a very upsetting thing, Davis told The Associated Press. It's very detrimental, very humiliating, all of it a lie.

The AP also reported that Neil Armstong has told investigators he never gave lunar material to anyone.

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