[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4158 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.4158

                      One Hundred Twelfth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
            the third day of January, two thousand and twelve


                                 An Act


 
To confirm full ownership rights for certain United States astronauts to 
             artifacts from the astronauts' space missions.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DEFINITION OF ARTIFACT.
    For purposes of this Act, the term ``artifact'' means, with respect 
to an astronaut described in section 2(a), any expendable item utilized 
in missions for the Mercury, Gemini, or Apollo programs through the 
completion of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project not expressly required to 
be returned to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at the 
completion of the mission and other expendable, disposable, or 
personal-use items utilized by such astronaut during participation in 
any such program. The term includes personal logs, checklists, flight 
manuals, prototype and proof test articles used in training, and 
disposable flight hardware salvaged from jettisoned lunar modules. The 
term does not include lunar rocks and other lunar material.
SEC. 2. FULL OWNERSHIP OF ARTIFACTS.
    (a) In General.--A United States astronaut who participated in any 
of the Mercury, Gemini, or Apollo programs through the completion of 
the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, who received an artifact during his 
participation in any such program, shall have full ownership of and 
clear title to such artifact.
    (b) No Federal Government Claim.--The Federal Government shall have 
no claim or right to ownership, control, or use of any artifact in 
possession of an astronaut as described in subsection (a) or any such 
artifact that was subsequently transferred, sold, or assigned to a 
third party by an astronaut described in subsection (a).

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.