Louisiana's missing moon rock found in Florida thanks to broken gun:
A long-lost piece of the moon belonging to the state of Louisiana may have remained missing — if not also been discarded or destroyed — had the plaque on which it was mounted not attracted the eye of a Florida gun collector.
The man, who was looking for wood samples to use in the repair or replacement of his damaged gunstocks, purchased the Apollo 17 goodwill moon rock display without realizing what it was. The buyer, who requested to remain anonymous but resides in Merritt Island, near Cape Canaveral, said that he had likely purchased the plaque at a garage sale sometime over the past 15 years.
"I can't even tell you how long I owned it for," the man told collectSPACE.com after reaching out for information through a common contact. "I'm not even sure how much I paid for it. I buy plaques because I take the wood from the plaques and I send it over to my gunstock guy and he makes grips for my Colts and so forth."
"The wood [in the plaques] is such nice wood — that is what I buy them for," he said.
It was not until the past two years, when he was seeking a particular color wood for a repair, that he pulled the moon-rock-adorned plaque from one of the 15 to 16 boxes of plaques that he had amassed for his hobby.
"What the hell is this?" he recalled thinking after taking a good look at what was on the plaque for the first time. "Before I start stripping things off, I generally take a moment to read them."
The 10-inch-wide by 14-inch-tall (25 by 35 centimeters) plaque had mounted to its top a small lucite ball embedded with a 1.142-gram (0.04 ounces) sample of lunar rock, part of a larger piece of the moon collected by Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt in 1972. The moonwalkers dedicated the rock as a symbol of goodwill while standing on the lunar surface.
"This fragment is a portion of a rock from Taurus Littrow Valley of the Moon. It was part of a larger rock composed of many particles of different shapes and sizes, a symbol of the unity of human endeavor and mankind's hope for a future of peace and harmony," a metal plate affixed below the lucite-encased moon rock reads.
[...] After realizing what he had, the Florida man who had bought the goodwill moon rock reached out to the Louisiana's governor office. From there, he was directed to Louisiana State Museum.
"They wanted me to mail it out to them," the man recalled. "I said, 'I'm not mailing this thing out to you. I will hand deliver it,' and with that said, that is what I did."
"He did indeed hand over the moon rock to the museum," Steven Maklansky, interim director of the Louisiana State Museum, told collectSPACE in an interview. "We did take possession of the rock."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 01 2021, @11:53AM
At least offer the NFT of this moon rock, having millions to wash...err...invest.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 01 2021, @12:44PM (15 children)
Read this morning about this on the Dutch news. There was some additional information on this in there that was IMHO interesting:
- Other (136) countries were given parts of "moon" stones.
- Over the years, about half of these gifts were lost.
- The stone given to the Dutch is part of the Rijksmuseum collection.
- The stone given to the Dutch does not originate from the moon, as it was determined to be fossilized wood in 2009.
Rijskmuseum page on this: https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/nl/collectie/NG-1991-4-25 [rijksmuseum.nl]
Dutch news page: https://nos.nl/artikel/2399913-maansteen-teruggevonden-op-amerikaanse-vlooienmarkt [nos.nl]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 01 2021, @01:10PM (8 children)
Patience, patience. We're going back, there will be some more Moon rocks available in the near future. You may have to buy them from Elon...
(Score: 2) by owl on Friday October 01 2021, @02:39PM (7 children)
Or from Jeff.... Depending upon which one makes it there and back first.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 01 2021, @02:42PM (5 children)
Didn't you get the memo? We're not supposed to root for that guy around here.
(Score: 2) by owl on Friday October 01 2021, @03:04PM (3 children)
Not rooting for that guy.
Just pointing out the fact that we do happen to have two billionaires competing for getting into space at this point in time. Assuming one of the two make it to the moon, then by definition one of them will be first to the moon. But we don't yet know which will get there first.
Personally I don't care which one makes it first, or even if either of them make it there.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 01 2021, @04:08PM
I'd rather have Elon's Moon rocks.
Jeff's will probably be sold on Amazon and I don't shop there (for a variety of reasons).
(Score: 5, Insightful) by cmdrklarg on Friday October 01 2021, @05:42PM (1 child)
Considering that one of them has put dozens of rockets into orbit (including several manned spacecraft), and the other's rockets have yet to make it to orbit I know who I'd be betting on.
The world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams.
(Score: 2) by owl on Saturday October 02 2021, @03:31AM
Agreed, the odds are overwhelmingly in favor of one of them winning the race first.
But significant odds of winning is not yet a "win", so we just have to wait and see. If past performance is a predictor of future gains, then we have a good hint of which one will very likely win. But there can always be a surprise waiting in the future that might change the odds.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 03 2021, @10:11AM
You needed a memo to know not to root for Jeff Bozos?
(Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Sunday October 03 2021, @08:33PM
The Chinese will be flooding the market with cheap moon rocks before too long...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 01 2021, @02:45PM (5 children)
I believe, in the US, it is illegal for private citizens to own them. I recall occasionally hearing stories about arrests when ill-gotten rocks are discovered. I think it is illegal because all of the rocks are owned by NASA, save the many that were given to various nations as diplomatic gifts.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 01 2021, @02:50PM (3 children)
Since the rocks do not represent an endangered species or mineral (the moon has an unlimited supply of these rocks, and scientists currently have plenty in their possession), I say, "Fuck it." You don't have to tell the king you own a crumb from one of "his" rocks. Let it be a "family secret."
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 01 2021, @05:14PM (2 children)
You're the reason we can't have nice things.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 01 2021, @08:35PM
The scientific value of this tiny crumb is nil.
Let him have it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 02 2021, @04:45PM
Why? What will happen if moon rocks fall into the wrong hands?
People want moon rocks. Go up there, get them, and sell them for a profit.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 02 2021, @12:54PM
From the article:
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 01 2021, @04:33PM (5 children)
I was cynical about this story as a money grab. "Hey, look, I found a fragment of the True Cross, I'll sell it for $50 million."
However, in reading the article, it looks like the person returned it to the Louisiana government for free, and indeed drove across the country to hand deliver it. It also "looks" pretty sophisticated. So there's a good chance this is true, as I don't see the obvious way if this were a fraud for the person to get rich.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by mydn on Friday October 01 2021, @05:00PM (2 children)
It's sad that we live in such an age that decency generates such suspicion.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 01 2021, @08:00PM (1 child)
Common decency isn't.
(Score: 3, Funny) by DannyB on Friday October 01 2021, @08:38PM
But Common Lisp is.
The server will be down for replacement of vacuum tubes, belts, worn parts and lubrication of gears and bearings.
(Score: 2) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Saturday October 02 2021, @04:52AM (1 child)
Yeah, and the best part of it is, the Louisiana museum told him to just mail it back to them. That should tell you how much of a shit they give. because really they should have dispatched a car right there and then to go get it themselves.
Congrats to the guy for doing the right thing despite the recipient's complete indifference.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 02 2021, @03:49PM
You probably overestimate the staffing and funding levels of the Louisiana museum.
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by Runaway1956 on Friday October 01 2021, @05:24PM (2 children)
Damn. I don't have a gunstock guy. How can I compete with someone like that? Probably has a barrel guy, an action guy, and a sights guy too. And a couple ammo babes.
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: 2) by Tork on Friday October 01 2021, @10:15PM (1 child)
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday October 01 2021, @11:47PM
Holy SMOKES! They want more for a stock than you can buy a (pretty good) new gun for!! Yeah, I know that if you want state-of-the-art with all the bells and whistles you'll pay several thousands for a rifle, but GEEEZ! That old M-1 from the first world war still kills deer out to a couple hundred yards.
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: 2, Funny) by Phoenix666 on Friday October 01 2021, @07:29PM (7 children)
It's irresponsible to remove any rocks from the Moon. It lessens its mass, disrupts Earth's tides, and contributes to climate change. Will selfish human acquisitiveness never end?
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday October 01 2021, @08:41PM
If Starship can deliver tons of cargo to the lunar surface (unlike suborbital Jeff), wouldn't that cargo's mass more than make up for any rocks that we've ever stolen and pillaged from the moon in the late 60's early 70's? IIRC, there were six landings, and they each brought back maybe 800 lbs of rocks.
The server will be down for replacement of vacuum tubes, belts, worn parts and lubrication of gears and bearings.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 01 2021, @08:46PM (1 child)
Humans have surely left more mass on the moon than we've taken. Half of each of the lunar landers are still on the moon, as are the rovers, mooncars, and various other odd bits and ends.
(Score: 2) by Nuke on Sunday October 03 2021, @10:04AM
Wow, so we have reduced the mass of Earth instead! I think we had all better stand still from now on, and kill all butterflies, as one more movement or beat of a butterfly wing could send us hurtling out of the solar system while the Moon plunges into the Sun.
(Score: 2) by Tork on Friday October 01 2021, @10:12PM (2 children)
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 02 2021, @04:58PM (1 child)
If you look at this reddit thread, someone tried to do the calculations. Hard to do though with just one picture of NYC.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MovieDetails/comments/96xs5h/in_the_fifth_element_manhattan_the_statue_of/ [reddit.com]
(Score: 2) by Tork on Saturday October 02 2021, @07:37PM
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday October 01 2021, @11:48PM
LOL, I like how you shoehorned climate change in there.
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: 2) by Nuke on Sunday October 03 2021, @10:07AM
Sounds like a really good idea, even though his moments must be very valuable things to have to spare one.