NASA Can't Find Its Moon Rocks
- Thread starter Greg Tito
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Curses, beaten to the punch! Regardless, that's probably where they went.Makon said:
What can I say? Science needs to be thrown against the wall and we need to see what sticks!
OH BOY, WE LOST OUR PRECIOUS MOON ROCKS.
LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE TO GO AND GET SOME MORE, IF ONLY WE HAD A BIGGER BUDGET *hint hint*
Ok, I don't really believe that they lost them on purpose, buuut this would be a good opportunity to ask for more funding, we need moon rocks FOR SCIENCE! after all, don't we?(I mean I hope we do)
LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE TO GO AND GET SOME MORE, IF ONLY WE HAD A BIGGER BUDGET *hint hint*
Ok, I don't really believe that they lost them on purpose, buuut this would be a good opportunity to ask for more funding, we need moon rocks FOR SCIENCE! after all, don't we?(I mean I hope we do)
I know what they're up to.
"Hey there, Mr. President. Uh, you know all those moon rocks we used to have? Yeah, can't find a darned one now. Looked underneath the couch and everything! It's a real shame. Now you just can't have a museum named after you without a moon rock in it, right? So how's about a few billion dollars for a brand-spanking-new moon mission?"
"Hey there, Mr. President. Uh, you know all those moon rocks we used to have? Yeah, can't find a darned one now. Looked underneath the couch and everything! It's a real shame. Now you just can't have a museum named after you without a moon rock in it, right? So how's about a few billion dollars for a brand-spanking-new moon mission?"
Can you believe this? I heard about it on NPR about a month and a half ago. How could some people be so careless... sheesh. World leaders.
I'm a scientist. Sometimes researchers send me precious, rare, one of a kind molecules and I get to work on them.
They don't get them back.
If I obtained a sample of moon rock from NASA for chemical analysis, once I was done, they would never get remaining sample back, unless specifically requested by formal letter or direct contact with the person who sent them, or unless it was specifically required that I return remaining material after experimentation. The sample would be kept and stored and I tend to track the paperwork of irreplacable materials.
The sad part about this situation is that once the records and paperwork and history (think, chain of evidence) on these rocks are lost, their scientific value is markedly less.
NASA is just an organization of people. Many of them scientists. All of them are friends and collaborators with other scientists. And the material just sorta flows around from person to person, then 40 years later they're all dead or retired and no one remembers anything.
Not surprised. Its not like there was a Rock Czar overseeing with religious fervor who got which samples of what rock. They're just curiosities anyway. No one expected that we'd never go back.
They don't get them back.
If I obtained a sample of moon rock from NASA for chemical analysis, once I was done, they would never get remaining sample back, unless specifically requested by formal letter or direct contact with the person who sent them, or unless it was specifically required that I return remaining material after experimentation. The sample would be kept and stored and I tend to track the paperwork of irreplacable materials.
The sad part about this situation is that once the records and paperwork and history (think, chain of evidence) on these rocks are lost, their scientific value is markedly less.
NASA is just an organization of people. Many of them scientists. All of them are friends and collaborators with other scientists. And the material just sorta flows around from person to person, then 40 years later they're all dead or retired and no one remembers anything.
Not surprised. Its not like there was a Rock Czar overseeing with religious fervor who got which samples of what rock. They're just curiosities anyway. No one expected that we'd never go back.
The solution- The next space mission from NASA is go to the moon to harvest the rocks. I mean those rocks are ain't going anywhere soon.
The Soviets have gathered (small) samples from the Moon using unmanned landers since then, mind. The Chinese keep mucking about with their space program, there is talk of them going to the Moon.Greg Tito said:
Also, as mentioned previously, shuttles aren't any real use in going to the moon anyway.