[meteorite-list] The Apollo Moon Rock Collection
Having been in charge of the Apollo Collection as well as the other collections at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) from 1998-2002, here is my take on this discussion. One of the main goals of curation at JSC is preserving the collection for posterity and for future study with instruments not yet imagined or by scientists not yet born. The Moon rocks are treated like a national treasure. As many of you may know, the curation protocols at JSC are the "gold standard" for extraterrestrial sample handling. For example, the collection is kept in high purity nitrogen, only materials restricted to of short list of aluminum, stainless steel, and Teflon are allow to touch the samples. The curation facility was built as a clean lab with positive air pressure, airlocks, and is operated by a highly trained staff. The Lunar Vault is built to withstand hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods -- and just to be on the safe side NASA has placed 15% of the collection at White Sands Test Facility, a few miles outside Las Cruces, New Mexico, locked away for safe keeping just in case of a catastrophic loss of the Lunar Lab in Houston. When people think about what a Mars Sample Return Lab design might look like, the first place they start from is the Lunar Sample Lab. Clearly, JSC does a fabulous job of handling, curating, and keeping the lunar samples safe, there is no museum or private collector in the world that comes close to Lunar Lab quality. However, the one thing that I think is missing from this facility is an equally spectacular public outreach component. Sure, the public can look at a few Moon rocks at museum displays here and there nationwide, but very few people ever get the privilege of being a visitor at the Lunar Lab. It is NOT open to the public. I think NASA, and JSC in particular, could enhance its image and boost public excitement and support for astromaterials research by somehow giving better public access to view these crown jewels in their laboratory setting. You may have guessed already that I'm not a big proponent of selling off the Moon Rocks to fund NASA missions, as a few people on the list have proposed. Even if Americans thought this was a good idea, I am pretty sure we would come up a few billion dollars short to do anything like a decent robotic Mars Sample Return. Furthermore, I doubt if many Americans would be in favor of cutting up pieces of the Declaration of Indepence or chunks of the Liberty Bell to sell as high priced souvenirs, or sell off tracts of Yellowstone Park to reduce our nation's debt. But I do think the Lunar Collection could be opened up to the public in away that would be beneficial to everyone, not the least to NASA itself. Carl Agee -- Carl B. Agee Director and Curator, Institute of Meteoritics Professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences MSC03 2050 University of New Mexico Albuquerque NM 87131-1126 Tel: (505) 750-7172 Fax: (505) 277-3577 Email: a...@unm.edu http://epswww.unm.edu/iom/pers/agee.html __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] The Apollo Moon Rock Collection
Actually, ALL politicians impact the collection of planetary and asteroidal meteorites. By giving away billions in public assistance to poor people and even more billions in corporate welfare to rich people, money is diverted from meteorite collection. No one will return to the moon as long as politicians choose to spend the national treasure on trillion dollar wars and bloated military budgets. If you want NASA properly funded, just make it part of the Defense Department. A military base on the moon by 2020! C'mon, we can do it! Politicians control the purse strings and if they didn't mismanage the people's money so badly, we'd be up to our elbows in meteorites. Phil Whitmer __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
[meteorite-list] The Apollo Moon Rock Collection
As far as I can tell, bulk Apollo lunar material is studied by the NASA Lunar Science Institute. The guys that do the hands on work are known as the Lunar Exploration and Analysis Group or LEAG. One of the scientists doing analysis of moon rocks here at the University of Notre Dame uses the new multiple-collector-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer or MC-ICP-MS to determine the mineral composition of lunar impact melts to determine their petrogenesis and place constraints on the impactors and target lithologies. http://lunarscience.arc.nasa.gov/ http://www.lpi.usra.edu/nlsi/teamMembers/bios.shtml Phil Whitmer __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] The Apollo Moon Rock Collection
Cheers! I agree completely with your post! Even if we went to the moon today and retrieved a ton of rocks. They would still not be Apollo moon rocks. When I first visited the space center in Houston I was upset there were no display of all the moon rocks. they have capsules, space suites,rockets,landers, and lots of other stuff. all very cool! But the rocks are what they went to the moon to bring back. I felt like "ok I'm looking at a pot of paint used by picasso" it doesnt paint the picture! Cheers Steve Dunklee --- On Mon, 6/27/11, Carl Agee wrote: > From: Carl Agee > Subject: [meteorite-list] The Apollo Moon Rock Collection > To: meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com > Date: Monday, June 27, 2011, 5:24 PM > Having been in charge of the Apollo > Collection as well as the other > collections at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) from > 1998-2002, here is > my take on this discussion. One of the main goals of > curation at JSC > is preserving the collection for posterity and for future > study with > instruments not yet imagined or by scientists not yet born. > The Moon > rocks are treated like a national treasure. As many of you > may know, > the curation protocols at JSC are the "gold standard" for > extraterrestrial sample handling. For example, the > collection is kept > in high purity nitrogen, only materials restricted to of > short list of > aluminum, stainless steel, and Teflon are allow to touch > the samples. > The curation facility was built as a clean lab with > positive air > pressure, airlocks, and is operated by a highly trained > staff. The > Lunar Vault is built to withstand hurricanes, tornadoes, > and floods -- > and just to be on the safe side NASA has placed 15% of the > collection > at White Sands Test Facility, a few miles outside Las > Cruces, New > Mexico, locked away for safe keeping just in case of a > catastrophic > loss of the Lunar Lab in Houston. When people think about > what a Mars > Sample Return Lab design might look like, the first place > they start > from is the Lunar Sample Lab. > > Clearly, JSC does a fabulous job of handling, curating, and > keeping > the lunar samples safe, there is no museum or private > collector in the > world that comes close to Lunar Lab quality. However, the > one thing > that I think is missing from this facility is an equally > spectacular > public outreach component. Sure, the public can look at a > few Moon > rocks at museum displays here and there nationwide, but > very few > people ever get the privilege of being a visitor at the > Lunar Lab. It > is NOT open to the public. I think NASA, and JSC in > particular, could > enhance its image and boost public excitement and support > for > astromaterials research by somehow giving better public > access to view > these crown jewels in their laboratory setting. > > You may have guessed already that I'm not a big proponent > of selling > off the Moon Rocks to fund NASA missions, as a few people > on the list > have proposed. Even if Americans thought this was a good > idea, I am > pretty sure we would come up a few billion dollars short to > do > anything like a decent robotic Mars Sample Return. > Furthermore, I > doubt if many Americans would be in favor of cutting up > pieces of the > Declaration of Indepence or chunks of the Liberty Bell to > sell as high > priced souvenirs, or sell off tracts of Yellowstone Park to > reduce our > nation's debt. But I do think the Lunar Collection could be > opened up > to the public in away that would be beneficial to everyone, > not the > least to NASA itself. > > Carl Agee > > -- > Carl B. Agee > Director and Curator, Institute of Meteoritics > Professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences > MSC03 2050 > University of New Mexico > Albuquerque NM 87131-1126 > > Tel: (505) 750-7172 > Fax: (505) 277-3577 > Email: a...@unm.edu > http://epswww.unm.edu/iom/pers/agee.html > __ > Visit the Archives at > http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html > Meteorite-list mailing list > Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list > __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] The Apollo Moon Rock Collection
Hi Carl and List, Thanks for your perspective Carl. When framed in that context, selling the Apollo rocks does seem a bit silly. However, would the same "Liberty Bell" comparison hold true for ANSMET specimens? There must be some leftovers or crumbs from the ANSMET collection that would fetch a small fortune on the collector market. I'd pay a premium for micromounts from ANSMET. I didn't mean any disrespect towards the US, NASA, or science by suggesting that NASA should sell off a small portion of it's collection. And I agree that the proceeds from the sale would not be nearly enough to fund a space mission. But I think it could generate a useful amount of cash that could be put towards good purposes. I also agree that the Apollo and ANSMET collections should be more accessible to the public. Perhaps a permanent in-house display with a self-guided tour could generate a small amount of revenue - charge for admission and have a gift shop located by the entry/exit with tiny lucite-encased samples for sale, themed collector displays, and memorabilia (T-shirts, etc). Of course, it would have to be done tastefully and respectfully, so it would seem too commercial. This is surely a pipe-dream, but us laymen have to dream.. :) One more idea just occurred to me - sell one spot per year on the ANSMET team to the highest competent bidder. As it stands now, one has to be degreed to be considered (or be a well-recommended grad student). But if they would allow the advanced layman to bid for chance to join the team, I know I would register to bid in a heartbeat! Best regards, MikeG -- - Galactic Stone & Ironworks - Meteorites & Amber (Michael Gilmer) Website - http://www.galactic-stone.com Facebook - http://tinyurl.com/42h79my News Feed - http://www.galactic-stone.com/rss/126516 Twitter - http://twitter.com/galacticstone EOM - http://www.encyclopedia-of-meteorites.com/collection.aspx?id=1564 - On 6/27/11, Carl Agee wrote: > Having been in charge of the Apollo Collection as well as the other > collections at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) from 1998-2002, here is > my take on this discussion. One of the main goals of curation at JSC > is preserving the collection for posterity and for future study with > instruments not yet imagined or by scientists not yet born. The Moon > rocks are treated like a national treasure. As many of you may know, > the curation protocols at JSC are the "gold standard" for > extraterrestrial sample handling. For example, the collection is kept > in high purity nitrogen, only materials restricted to of short list of > aluminum, stainless steel, and Teflon are allow to touch the samples. > The curation facility was built as a clean lab with positive air > pressure, airlocks, and is operated by a highly trained staff. The > Lunar Vault is built to withstand hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods -- > and just to be on the safe side NASA has placed 15% of the collection > at White Sands Test Facility, a few miles outside Las Cruces, New > Mexico, locked away for safe keeping just in case of a catastrophic > loss of the Lunar Lab in Houston. When people think about what a Mars > Sample Return Lab design might look like, the first place they start > from is the Lunar Sample Lab. > > Clearly, JSC does a fabulous job of handling, curating, and keeping > the lunar samples safe, there is no museum or private collector in the > world that comes close to Lunar Lab quality. However, the one thing > that I think is missing from this facility is an equally spectacular > public outreach component. Sure, the public can look at a few Moon > rocks at museum displays here and there nationwide, but very few > people ever get the privilege of being a visitor at the Lunar Lab. It > is NOT open to the public. I think NASA, and JSC in particular, could > enhance its image and boost public excitement and support for > astromaterials research by somehow giving better public access to view > these crown jewels in their laboratory setting. > > You may have guessed already that I'm not a big proponent of selling > off the Moon Rocks to fund NASA missions, as a few people on the list > have proposed. Even if Americans thought this was a good idea, I am > pretty sure we would come up a few billion dollars short to do > anything like a decent robotic Mars Sample Return. Furthermore, I > doubt if many Americans would be in favor of cutting up pieces of the > Declaration of Indepence or chunks of the Liberty Bell to sell as high > priced souvenirs, or sell off tracts of Yellowstone Park to reduce our > nation's debt. But I do think the Lunar Collection could be opened up > to the public in away that would be beneficial to everyone, not the > least to NASA itself. > > Carl Agee > > -- > Carl B. Agee > Director and Curator, Institute of Meteoritics
Re: [meteorite-list] The Apollo Moon Rock Collection
List, "Of course, it would have to be done tastefully and respectfully, so it would seem too commercial." Typographical error. I meant to say "so it would NOT seem too commercial." Best regards, MikeG On 6/27/11, Michael Gilmer wrote: > Hi Carl and List, > > Thanks for your perspective Carl. When framed in that context, > selling the Apollo rocks does seem a bit silly. > > However, would the same "Liberty Bell" comparison hold true for ANSMET > specimens? There must be some leftovers or crumbs from the ANSMET > collection that would fetch a small fortune on the collector market. > I'd pay a premium for micromounts from ANSMET. > > I didn't mean any disrespect towards the US, NASA, or science by > suggesting that NASA should sell off a small portion of it's > collection. And I agree that the proceeds from the sale would not be > nearly enough to fund a space mission. But I think it could generate > a useful amount of cash that could be put towards good purposes. > > I also agree that the Apollo and ANSMET collections should be more > accessible to the public. Perhaps a permanent in-house display with a > self-guided tour could generate a small amount of revenue - charge for > admission and have a gift shop located by the entry/exit with tiny > lucite-encased samples for sale, themed collector displays, and > memorabilia (T-shirts, etc). Of course, it would have to be done > tastefully and respectfully, so it would seem too commercial. > > This is surely a pipe-dream, but us laymen have to dream.. :) > > One more idea just occurred to me - sell one spot per year on the > ANSMET team to the highest competent bidder. As it stands now, one > has to be degreed to be considered (or be a well-recommended grad > student). But if they would allow the advanced layman to bid for > chance to join the team, I know I would register to bid in a > heartbeat! > > Best regards, > > MikeG > > -- > - > Galactic Stone & Ironworks - Meteorites & Amber (Michael Gilmer) > > Website - http://www.galactic-stone.com > Facebook - http://tinyurl.com/42h79my > News Feed - http://www.galactic-stone.com/rss/126516 > Twitter - http://twitter.com/galacticstone > EOM - http://www.encyclopedia-of-meteorites.com/collection.aspx?id=1564 > - > > > On 6/27/11, Carl Agee wrote: >> Having been in charge of the Apollo Collection as well as the other >> collections at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) from 1998-2002, here is >> my take on this discussion. One of the main goals of curation at JSC >> is preserving the collection for posterity and for future study with >> instruments not yet imagined or by scientists not yet born. The Moon >> rocks are treated like a national treasure. As many of you may know, >> the curation protocols at JSC are the "gold standard" for >> extraterrestrial sample handling. For example, the collection is kept >> in high purity nitrogen, only materials restricted to of short list of >> aluminum, stainless steel, and Teflon are allow to touch the samples. >> The curation facility was built as a clean lab with positive air >> pressure, airlocks, and is operated by a highly trained staff. The >> Lunar Vault is built to withstand hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods -- >> and just to be on the safe side NASA has placed 15% of the collection >> at White Sands Test Facility, a few miles outside Las Cruces, New >> Mexico, locked away for safe keeping just in case of a catastrophic >> loss of the Lunar Lab in Houston. When people think about what a Mars >> Sample Return Lab design might look like, the first place they start >> from is the Lunar Sample Lab. >> >> Clearly, JSC does a fabulous job of handling, curating, and keeping >> the lunar samples safe, there is no museum or private collector in the >> world that comes close to Lunar Lab quality. However, the one thing >> that I think is missing from this facility is an equally spectacular >> public outreach component. Sure, the public can look at a few Moon >> rocks at museum displays here and there nationwide, but very few >> people ever get the privilege of being a visitor at the Lunar Lab. It >> is NOT open to the public. I think NASA, and JSC in particular, could >> enhance its image and boost public excitement and support for >> astromaterials research by somehow giving better public access to view >> these crown jewels in their laboratory setting. >> >> You may have guessed already that I'm not a big proponent of selling >> off the Moon Rocks to fund NASA missions, as a few people on the list >> have proposed. Even if Americans thought this was a good idea, I am >> pretty sure we would come up a few billion dollars short to do >> anything like a decent robotic Mars Sample Return. Furthermore, I >> doubt if many Americans would be in favor of cutting up pieces of the >> Declaration of Indepen
Re: [meteorite-list] The Apollo Moon Rock Collection
"Furthermore, I doubt if many Americans would be in favor of cutting up pieces of the Declaration of Indepence or chunks of the Liberty Bell to sell as high priced souvenirs, or sell off tracts of Yellowstone Park to reduce our nation's debt." Obama hasn't thought about that yet. :0 -- Stuart McDaniel Lawndale, NC IMCA#9052 http://www.facebook.com/Stuart.McDaniel.No.1 Carl Agee wrote: = Having been in charge of the Apollo Collection as well as the other collections at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) from 1998-2002, here is my take on this discussion. One of the main goals of curation at JSC is preserving the collection for posterity and for future study with instruments not yet imagined or by scientists not yet born. The Moon rocks are treated like a national treasure. As many of you may know, the curation protocols at JSC are the "gold standard" for extraterrestrial sample handling. For example, the collection is kept in high purity nitrogen, only materials restricted to of short list of aluminum, stainless steel, and Teflon are allow to touch the samples. The curation facility was built as a clean lab with positive air pressure, airlocks, and is operated by a highly trained staff. The Lunar Vault is built to withstand hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods -- and just to be on the safe side NASA has placed 15% of the collection at White Sands Test Facility, a few miles outside Las Cruces, New Mexico, locked away for safe keeping just in case of a catastrophic loss of the Lunar Lab in Houston. When people think about what a Mars Sample Return Lab design might look like, the first place they start from is the Lunar Sample Lab. Clearly, JSC does a fabulous job of handling, curating, and keeping the lunar samples safe, there is no museum or private collector in the world that comes close to Lunar Lab quality. However, the one thing that I think is missing from this facility is an equally spectacular public outreach component. Sure, the public can look at a few Moon rocks at museum displays here and there nationwide, but very few people ever get the privilege of being a visitor at the Lunar Lab. It is NOT open to the public. I think NASA, and JSC in particular, could enhance its image and boost public excitement and support for astromaterials research by somehow giving better public access to view these crown jewels in their laboratory setting. You may have guessed already that I'm not a big proponent of selling off the Moon Rocks to fund NASA missions, as a few people on the list have proposed. Even if Americans thought this was a good idea, I am pretty sure we would come up a few billion dollars short to do anything like a decent robotic Mars Sample Return. Furthermore, I doubt if many Americans would be in favor of cutting up pieces of the Declaration of Indepence or chunks of the Liberty Bell to sell as high priced souvenirs, or sell off tracts of Yellowstone Park to reduce our nation's debt. But I do think the Lunar Collection could be opened up to the public in away that would be beneficial to everyone, not the least to NASA itself. Carl Agee -- Carl B. Agee Director and Curator, Institute of Meteoritics Professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences MSC03 2050 University of New Mexico Albuquerque NM 87131-1126 Tel: (505) 750-7172 Fax: (505) 277-3577 Email: a...@unm.edu http://epswww.unm.edu/iom/pers/agee.html __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] The Apollo Moon Rock Collection
What all is included in the ANSMET collection, are they all ALH? -- Stuart McDaniel Lawndale, NC IMCA#9052 http://www.facebook.com/Stuart.McDaniel.No.1 Michael Gilmer wrote: = Hi Carl and List, Thanks for your perspective Carl. When framed in that context, selling the Apollo rocks does seem a bit silly. However, would the same "Liberty Bell" comparison hold true for ANSMET specimens? There must be some leftovers or crumbs from the ANSMET collection that would fetch a small fortune on the collector market. I'd pay a premium for micromounts from ANSMET. I didn't mean any disrespect towards the US, NASA, or science by suggesting that NASA should sell off a small portion of it's collection. And I agree that the proceeds from the sale would not be nearly enough to fund a space mission. But I think it could generate a useful amount of cash that could be put towards good purposes. I also agree that the Apollo and ANSMET collections should be more accessible to the public. Perhaps a permanent in-house display with a self-guided tour could generate a small amount of revenue - charge for admission and have a gift shop located by the entry/exit with tiny lucite-encased samples for sale, themed collector displays, and memorabilia (T-shirts, etc). Of course, it would have to be done tastefully and respectfully, so it would seem too commercial. This is surely a pipe-dream, but us laymen have to dream.. :) One more idea just occurred to me - sell one spot per year on the ANSMET team to the highest competent bidder. As it stands now, one has to be degreed to be considered (or be a well-recommended grad student). But if they would allow the advanced layman to bid for chance to join the team, I know I would register to bid in a heartbeat! Best regards, MikeG -- - Galactic Stone & Ironworks - Meteorites & Amber (Michael Gilmer) Website - http://www.galactic-stone.com Facebook - http://tinyurl.com/42h79my News Feed - http://www.galactic-stone.com/rss/126516 Twitter - http://twitter.com/galacticstone EOM - http://www.encyclopedia-of-meteorites.com/collection.aspx?id=1564 - On 6/27/11, Carl Agee wrote: > Having been in charge of the Apollo Collection as well as the other > collections at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) from 1998-2002, here is > my take on this discussion. One of the main goals of curation at JSC > is preserving the collection for posterity and for future study with > instruments not yet imagined or by scientists not yet born. The Moon > rocks are treated like a national treasure. As many of you may know, > the curation protocols at JSC are the "gold standard" for > extraterrestrial sample handling. For example, the collection is kept > in high purity nitrogen, only materials restricted to of short list of > aluminum, stainless steel, and Teflon are allow to touch the samples. > The curation facility was built as a clean lab with positive air > pressure, airlocks, and is operated by a highly trained staff. The > Lunar Vault is built to withstand hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods -- > and just to be on the safe side NASA has placed 15% of the collection > at White Sands Test Facility, a few miles outside Las Cruces, New > Mexico, locked away for safe keeping just in case of a catastrophic > loss of the Lunar Lab in Houston. When people think about what a Mars > Sample Return Lab design might look like, the first place they start > from is the Lunar Sample Lab. > > Clearly, JSC does a fabulous job of handling, curating, and keeping > the lunar samples safe, there is no museum or private collector in the > world that comes close to Lunar Lab quality. However, the one thing > that I think is missing from this facility is an equally spectacular > public outreach component. Sure, the public can look at a few Moon > rocks at museum displays here and there nationwide, but very few > people ever get the privilege of being a visitor at the Lunar Lab. It > is NOT open to the public. I think NASA, and JSC in particular, could > enhance its image and boost public excitement and support for > astromaterials research by somehow giving better public access to view > these crown jewels in their laboratory setting. > > You may have guessed already that I'm not a big proponent of selling > off the Moon Rocks to fund NASA missions, as a few people on the list > have proposed. Even if Americans thought this was a good idea, I am > pretty sure we would come up a few billion dollars short to do > anything like a decent robotic Mars Sample Return. Furthermore, I > doubt if many Americans would be in favor of cutting up pieces of the > Declaration of Indepence or chunks of the Liberty Bell to sell as high > priced souvenirs, or sell off tracts of Yellowstone Park to reduce our > nation's debt. But I do think the Lunar Collection
Re: [meteorite-list] The Apollo Moon Rock Collection
Can we please refrain from bringing politics into meteorites, unless the politician in question is actively doing something for or against our hobby? Mahalo, Tracy Latimer > Date: Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:52:58 -0400 > From: actionshoot...@carolina.rr.com > To: meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com; a...@unm.edu > Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] The Apollo Moon Rock Collection > > "Furthermore, I > doubt if many Americans would be in favor of cutting up pieces of the > Declaration of Indepence or chunks of the Liberty Bell to sell as high > priced souvenirs, or sell off tracts of Yellowstone Park to reduce our > nation's debt." > > Obama hasn't thought about that yet. :0 > > > -- > Stuart McDaniel > Lawndale, NC > IMCA#9052 > > http://www.facebook.com/Stuart.McDaniel.No.1 > __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] The Apollo Moon Rock Collection
Ah, a nerve has been touched. Now, the downhill slide begins! -Original Message- >From: tracy latimer >Sent: Jun 27, 2011 4:52 PM >To: meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com >Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] The Apollo Moon Rock Collection > > >Can we please refrain from bringing politics into meteorites, unless the >politician in question is actively doing something for or against our hobby? > >Mahalo, >Tracy Latimer > >> Date: Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:52:58 -0400 >> From: actionshoot...@carolina.rr.com >> To: meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com; a...@unm.edu >> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] The Apollo Moon Rock Collection >> >> "Furthermore, I >> doubt if many Americans would be in favor of cutting up pieces of the >> Declaration of Indepence or chunks of the Liberty Bell to sell as high >> priced souvenirs, or sell off tracts of Yellowstone Park to reduce our >> nation's debt." >> >> Obama hasn't thought about that yet. :0 >> >> >> -- >> Stuart McDaniel >> Lawndale, NC >> IMCA#9052 >> >> http://www.facebook.com/Stuart.McDaniel.No.1 >> > > >__ >Visit the Archives at >http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html >Meteorite-list mailing list >Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com >http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] The Apollo Moon Rock Collection
Carl, and List, THIS is why and how I am proud to be part of this List discussion group. Between the banter and sometimes painful childish rancor, the gems show up. To the point: when we consider posterity and the opportunity for future study of things not yet even concieved, let alone invented, we have this wisdom of preservation foresight to thank. After all, time is eternity, and who friggin' knows when or if we'll ever get back to the moon. If, hopefully, we're on to further horizons, our lunar partner may sit there for generations...and we may have preserved the evidentiary keys. Thanks Carl for the post! -Richard Montgomery - Original Message - From: "Carl Agee" To: Sent: Monday, June 27, 2011 10:24 AM Subject: [meteorite-list] The Apollo Moon Rock Collection Having been in charge of the Apollo Collection as well as the other collections at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) from 1998-2002, here is my take on this discussion. One of the main goals of curation at JSC is preserving the collection for posterity and for future study with instruments not yet imagined or by scientists not yet born. The Moon rocks are treated like a national treasure. As many of you may know, the curation protocols at JSC are the "gold standard" for extraterrestrial sample handling. For example, the collection is kept in high purity nitrogen, only materials restricted to of short list of aluminum, stainless steel, and Teflon are allow to touch the samples. The curation facility was built as a clean lab with positive air pressure, airlocks, and is operated by a highly trained staff. The Lunar Vault is built to withstand hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods -- and just to be on the safe side NASA has placed 15% of the collection at White Sands Test Facility, a few miles outside Las Cruces, New Mexico, locked away for safe keeping just in case of a catastrophic loss of the Lunar Lab in Houston. When people think about what a Mars Sample Return Lab design might look like, the first place they start from is the Lunar Sample Lab. Clearly, JSC does a fabulous job of handling, curating, and keeping the lunar samples safe, there is no museum or private collector in the world that comes close to Lunar Lab quality. However, the one thing that I think is missing from this facility is an equally spectacular public outreach component. Sure, the public can look at a few Moon rocks at museum displays here and there nationwide, but very few people ever get the privilege of being a visitor at the Lunar Lab. It is NOT open to the public. I think NASA, and JSC in particular, could enhance its image and boost public excitement and support for astromaterials research by somehow giving better public access to view these crown jewels in their laboratory setting. You may have guessed already that I'm not a big proponent of selling off the Moon Rocks to fund NASA missions, as a few people on the list have proposed. Even if Americans thought this was a good idea, I am pretty sure we would come up a few billion dollars short to do anything like a decent robotic Mars Sample Return. Furthermore, I doubt if many Americans would be in favor of cutting up pieces of the Declaration of Indepence or chunks of the Liberty Bell to sell as high priced souvenirs, or sell off tracts of Yellowstone Park to reduce our nation's debt. But I do think the Lunar Collection could be opened up to the public in away that would be beneficial to everyone, not the least to NASA itself. Carl Agee -- Carl B. Agee Director and Curator, Institute of Meteoritics Professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences MSC03 2050 University of New Mexico Albuquerque NM 87131-1126 Tel: (505) 750-7172 Fax: (505) 277-3577 Email: a...@unm.edu http://epswww.unm.edu/iom/pers/agee.html __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] The Apollo Moon Rock Collection
...and adendum to my last post: I am, though, very interested to hear more from your colleagues, Carl. Ted? What are the opinions of this? A vast source of study. (I have no idea who has access to what.) - Original Message - From: "Michael Gilmer" To: "Carl Agee" Cc: Sent: Monday, June 27, 2011 12:51 PM Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] The Apollo Moon Rock Collection Hi Carl and List, Thanks for your perspective Carl. When framed in that context, selling the Apollo rocks does seem a bit silly. However, would the same "Liberty Bell" comparison hold true for ANSMET specimens? There must be some leftovers or crumbs from the ANSMET collection that would fetch a small fortune on the collector market. I'd pay a premium for micromounts from ANSMET. I didn't mean any disrespect towards the US, NASA, or science by suggesting that NASA should sell off a small portion of it's collection. And I agree that the proceeds from the sale would not be nearly enough to fund a space mission. But I think it could generate a useful amount of cash that could be put towards good purposes. I also agree that the Apollo and ANSMET collections should be more accessible to the public. Perhaps a permanent in-house display with a self-guided tour could generate a small amount of revenue - charge for admission and have a gift shop located by the entry/exit with tiny lucite-encased samples for sale, themed collector displays, and memorabilia (T-shirts, etc). Of course, it would have to be done tastefully and respectfully, so it would seem too commercial. This is surely a pipe-dream, but us laymen have to dream.. :) One more idea just occurred to me - sell one spot per year on the ANSMET team to the highest competent bidder. As it stands now, one has to be degreed to be considered (or be a well-recommended grad student). But if they would allow the advanced layman to bid for chance to join the team, I know I would register to bid in a heartbeat! Best regards, MikeG -- - Galactic Stone & Ironworks - Meteorites & Amber (Michael Gilmer) Website - http://www.galactic-stone.com Facebook - http://tinyurl.com/42h79my News Feed - http://www.galactic-stone.com/rss/126516 Twitter - http://twitter.com/galacticstone EOM - http://www.encyclopedia-of-meteorites.com/collection.aspx?id=1564 - On 6/27/11, Carl Agee wrote: Having been in charge of the Apollo Collection as well as the other collections at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) from 1998-2002, here is my take on this discussion. One of the main goals of curation at JSC is preserving the collection for posterity and for future study with instruments not yet imagined or by scientists not yet born. The Moon rocks are treated like a national treasure. As many of you may know, the curation protocols at JSC are the "gold standard" for extraterrestrial sample handling. For example, the collection is kept in high purity nitrogen, only materials restricted to of short list of aluminum, stainless steel, and Teflon are allow to touch the samples. The curation facility was built as a clean lab with positive air pressure, airlocks, and is operated by a highly trained staff. The Lunar Vault is built to withstand hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods -- and just to be on the safe side NASA has placed 15% of the collection at White Sands Test Facility, a few miles outside Las Cruces, New Mexico, locked away for safe keeping just in case of a catastrophic loss of the Lunar Lab in Houston. When people think about what a Mars Sample Return Lab design might look like, the first place they start from is the Lunar Sample Lab. Clearly, JSC does a fabulous job of handling, curating, and keeping the lunar samples safe, there is no museum or private collector in the world that comes close to Lunar Lab quality. However, the one thing that I think is missing from this facility is an equally spectacular public outreach component. Sure, the public can look at a few Moon rocks at museum displays here and there nationwide, but very few people ever get the privilege of being a visitor at the Lunar Lab. It is NOT open to the public. I think NASA, and JSC in particular, could enhance its image and boost public excitement and support for astromaterials research by somehow giving better public access to view these crown jewels in their laboratory setting. You may have guessed already that I'm not a big proponent of selling off the Moon Rocks to fund NASA missions, as a few people on the list have proposed. Even if Americans thought this was a good idea, I am pretty sure we would come up a few billion dollars short to do anything like a decent robotic Mars Sample Return. Furthermore, I doubt if many Americans would be in favor of cutting up pieces of the Declarati
Re: [meteorite-list] The Apollo Moon Rock Collection
Carl and all Listees Thank you for your erudite and well argued contribution. I could not agree more. Peter Davidson Curator of Minerals Department of Natural Sciences National Museums Collection Centre 242 West Granton Road Edinburgh EH5 1JA Scotland tel: 0131 247 4283 e-mail: p.david...@nms.ac.uk -Original Message- From: meteorite-list-boun...@meteoritecentral.com [mailto:meteorite-list-boun...@meteoritecentral.com] On Behalf Of Carl Agee Sent: 27 June 2011 18:24 To: meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com Subject: [meteorite-list] The Apollo Moon Rock Collection Having been in charge of the Apollo Collection as well as the other collections at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) from 1998-2002, here is my take on this discussion. One of the main goals of curation at JSC is preserving the collection for posterity and for future study with instruments not yet imagined or by scientists not yet born. The Moon rocks are treated like a national treasure. As many of you may know, the curation protocols at JSC are the "gold standard" for extraterrestrial sample handling. For example, the collection is kept in high purity nitrogen, only materials restricted to of short list of aluminum, stainless steel, and Teflon are allow to touch the samples. The curation facility was built as a clean lab with positive air pressure, airlocks, and is operated by a highly trained staff. The Lunar Vault is built to withstand hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods -- and just to be on the safe side NASA has placed 15% of the collection at White Sands Test Facility, a few miles outside Las Cruces, New Mexico, locked away for safe keeping just in case of a catastrophic loss of the Lunar Lab in Houston. When people think about what a Mars Sample Return Lab design might look like, the first place they start from is the Lunar Sample Lab. Clearly, JSC does a fabulous job of handling, curating, and keeping the lunar samples safe, there is no museum or private collector in the world that comes close to Lunar Lab quality. However, the one thing that I think is missing from this facility is an equally spectacular public outreach component. Sure, the public can look at a few Moon rocks at museum displays here and there nationwide, but very few people ever get the privilege of being a visitor at the Lunar Lab. It is NOT open to the public. I think NASA, and JSC in particular, could enhance its image and boost public excitement and support for astromaterials research by somehow giving better public access to view these crown jewels in their laboratory setting. You may have guessed already that I'm not a big proponent of selling off the Moon Rocks to fund NASA missions, as a few people on the list have proposed. Even if Americans thought this was a good idea, I am pretty sure we would come up a few billion dollars short to do anything like a decent robotic Mars Sample Return. Furthermore, I doubt if many Americans would be in favor of cutting up pieces of the Declaration of Indepence or chunks of the Liberty Bell to sell as high priced souvenirs, or sell off tracts of Yellowstone Park to reduce our nation's debt. But I do think the Lunar Collection could be opened up to the public in away that would be beneficial to everyone, not the least to NASA itself. Carl Agee -- Carl B. Agee Director and Curator, Institute of Meteoritics Professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences MSC03 2050 University of New Mexico Albuquerque NM 87131-1126 Tel: (505) 750-7172 Fax: (505) 277-3577 Email: a...@unm.edu http://epswww.unm.edu/iom/pers/agee.html __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list Airshow, Saturday 23 July, at the National Museum of Flight. New air displays for 2011. www.nms.ac.uk/airshow National Museums Scotland, Scottish Charity, No. SC 011130 This communication is intended for the addressee(s) only. If you are not the addressee please inform the sender and delete the email from your system. The statements and opinions expressed in this message are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of National Museums Scotland. This message is subject to the Data Protection Act 1998 and Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. No liability is accepted for any harm that may be caused to your systems or data by this message. __ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
