NASA and some of its most famous astronauts are locked in a legal battle over collectables acquired during their space missions.

Commander Jim Lovell and his crew of Apollo 13 successfully wrestled their damaged spacecraft home in 1970.

But, recently Lovell attempted to sell a checklist used in the expedition, and unsuspectingly fetching more than $300 000 for it, attracted opposition from the US space agency.

Now NASA has blocked Lovell and other astronauts from selling their memorabilia, which the agency allowed them to take home 40 years ago, angering some veteran space explorers.

Al Jazeera's John Terrett reports from Washington.