Steve Arnold, Chicago!!! wrote:
...I have a question regarding OWNING apollo material.Why can we not
own any of this material?
The reason is is is against federal law for private ownership of Apollo
samples. There seems to be some loopholes for "dust" which for a time
was confiscated by NASA even from the guy who had the dry cleaning
contract for the EVA suits. However: " several hundred sticky-tape
swaths of lunar dust, retrieved by space workers from Apollo spacesuits
and from the bottoms of returned sample boxes, are also believed to be
in private hands. Congress for one time almost acted pro-actively in
passing a law to protect the US Tax payer's investment in the Apollo
Program. Nixon authorized the "placing" of samples with every
government on Earth. As you recall or not the Honduran sample caught up
in a law suit and criminal charges when an ex official sold it to a dealer.
"In recent years, NASA had stepped in to confiscate such material when
it appeared on the open market. But the courts have decided that NASA
ownership of the dust is uncertain, and no prosecutions have succeeded.
Several such sample packs have already been auctioned without incident,
bringing prices in the six figures."
If any of us were lucky enuff to own even a speck,what would this be
worth?It is a question that has been eating me ever since tucson.I
would like any kind of answer.Thanks again!
A few Google quotes:
"A few grams(sic) of moon dust reportedly were sold for $42,000 at an
auction in the US in 1993. Later a carat of moon rock returned by an
unmanned Soviet lunar mission in the 1970s sold for $442,000. An auction
of Space Memorabilia at Christies on Sept. 18, 1999 included a nametag
from Jim Irwin's spacesuit that he wore on the Moon during Apollo 15.
The tag was impregnated with a small amount of moondust. It was bought
for $310,500."
Spaceflori has some Apollo lunar dust for sale See the clip from their
website below.<http://spaceflori.com/conditions.php>
Also what would it even look like?I have never even seen any.
Much like the saw cuttings from any of several lunar meteorites-- light
gray. Most major museums have Lunar Samples on display. I believe the
Field Museum in Chicago has them-- in addition to a fine meteorite
collection. If one is in the field of education and completes the
Artifact Handling Course, NASA may loan some samples for a short period
of time. I believe we have some list members who are certified.
*Moondust sales legality( from Spaceflori.com)*
The NASA attitude and position regarding the ownership of trace samples
of lunar dust is historically that they have raised no objections with
the proviso that they were obtained as residual material from artifacts
that have been de-acquisitioned by legitimate means.
There are several precedents of the trading of lunar material trace
samples that confirm the validity of that position.
# The trace lunar dust on Alan Beans lunar EVA spacesuit lunar patches
contained within his paintings
# Various samples of lunar dust sold at the Superior Space Auction
during the last years
# Lunar dust residue on several artifacts sold by Apollo astronauts
# Lunar dust residue on Apollo 15 patch sold at Christies Auction
The lunar dust samples offered by us were obtained in a manner
commensurate with the NASA position, see the Certificate of Authenticity
image for further information. We therefore conclude that the sale and
subsequent ownership of these samples does not compromise the existing
NASA position on the matter. However, given the apparent sensitivity
regarding ownership of such samples it is prudent that Spaceflori.com
states that these samples are sold under German national law without the
UN trading terms, and if as a prospective purchaser you have any doubts
regarding the legality of ownership of these samples within your country
then please check first with your own national laws.
Elton
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