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TDBK
路Bonhams is auctioning off 5 disks of lunar sample which came back with the Apollo 11 mission. The perfect gift for the billionaire who has everything: https://www.bonhams.com/auction/279...eter-carbon-tape-containing-apollo-moon-dust/
Other Apollo samples are owned by the government, there are essentially none in private hands. This particular sample became legal via an interesting path.
Even after the Apollo 11 astronauts had landed safely on the moon, there was concern that there might be a problem and they might have to take off quickly without preparation. So one of the first actions on the mission plan was to get a small sample of rocks that they would stash first, so even if they left before doing anything else, they'd get that single sample: the Apollo 11 Contingency Sample. This went into a single fabric bag.
They then went on to complete the rest of the mission, which included collecting more samples in more structured, better-documented fashion, and then they brought it all back. The contingency sample was stowed in another bag for decontamination control, and some of the sticky lunar dust adhered to the decontamination bag. Anyway, NASA at some point lost track of the decontamination bag, and it ended up in the personal collection of a museum curator, who was charged with, and found guilty of, selling museum property. So then the US Marshals auctioned off the decontamination bag, along with other items, to pay damages.
A woman bought the bag at auction and then sent it to NASA to have it be authenticated as an Apollo 11 artifact with real lunar dust; the government confirmed that but tried to seize the bag as government property. She had to sue, and won, because the government had had a chance to retain it, but gave that chance up when the marshals auctioned the property off. So NASA had to give the bag back to her. Later it was determined that NASA had kept some of the dust for study, and she had to re-litigate to recover it and it's these samples which are being auctioned.
Despite today's date and the convoluted tale, none of this is a joke.
Here's the auction where the bag was sold: https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2017/space-exploration-n09759/lot.102.html, including details on the contingency collection process.
Other Apollo samples are owned by the government, there are essentially none in private hands. This particular sample became legal via an interesting path.
Even after the Apollo 11 astronauts had landed safely on the moon, there was concern that there might be a problem and they might have to take off quickly without preparation. So one of the first actions on the mission plan was to get a small sample of rocks that they would stash first, so even if they left before doing anything else, they'd get that single sample: the Apollo 11 Contingency Sample. This went into a single fabric bag.
They then went on to complete the rest of the mission, which included collecting more samples in more structured, better-documented fashion, and then they brought it all back. The contingency sample was stowed in another bag for decontamination control, and some of the sticky lunar dust adhered to the decontamination bag. Anyway, NASA at some point lost track of the decontamination bag, and it ended up in the personal collection of a museum curator, who was charged with, and found guilty of, selling museum property. So then the US Marshals auctioned off the decontamination bag, along with other items, to pay damages.
A woman bought the bag at auction and then sent it to NASA to have it be authenticated as an Apollo 11 artifact with real lunar dust; the government confirmed that but tried to seize the bag as government property. She had to sue, and won, because the government had had a chance to retain it, but gave that chance up when the marshals auctioned the property off. So NASA had to give the bag back to her. Later it was determined that NASA had kept some of the dust for study, and she had to re-litigate to recover it and it's these samples which are being auctioned.
Despite today's date and the convoluted tale, none of this is a joke.
Here's the auction where the bag was sold: https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2017/space-exploration-n09759/lot.102.html, including details on the contingency collection process.
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