Carlson, a corporate and real estate attorney and a former board member at Community Consolidated School District 15 in Palatine, bought the bag for $995 in 2015 on a government website, www.forfeiture.gov. She sent it to NASA to verify its authenticity, and when tests showed it was legitimate, officials refused to return it, saying it was rightfully the space agency's property, since they had originally obtained it and weren't aware of its sale.