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Weird space story.


jetboy

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Hi,check out the weird story of the scottish space fan,who has recently paid to have his photo taken up to the iss,stamped as having been there,photographed against a window with the earth as a backdrop,and returned ,to earth,now has pride of place in east lothian.But i thought the weirdest part of the story is in his space collection,he has two samples of moon dust,one off the apollo11 one of the apollo 15 mission,he bought them with provenance,a few years ago,but it seems nasa said he should,nt have them they are a us national treasure?,anyway as he has bought them legally,nasa,s struggling to reclaim them after numerous attempts,it seems a stalemate has been reached,if he doesnt advertise or show them,nasa will leave him alone?.Idont think i would like nasa breathing down my neck,anyway its damn weird,you can buy anything these days, check it out cheers Don

Edited by jetboy
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"We claim this world for ALL mankind....", I thought?!?!?

Who would have guessed the Moon was the 51st state?!?

hi,yeah sounds a bit wierd that statement,but as china is planning a landing in the next couple of years,looks like a good law firm is required cheers Don Edited by jetboy
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The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 states:

Article II

Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means. (http://history.nasa.gov/1967treaty.html)

Although some say this doesn't preclude private individuals from laying claim to the moon or other planets, but they must show intent to occupy!!! So, start building a home rocket and claim a planet for yourself!!! Bagsy Jupiter AND its moons... :thumbsup:

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I thought I'd replied to this but can't see my post anywhere.

The Americans don't claim to own the Moon in the sense of a piece of land but the rocks and stuff that they brought back do belong to the US Government. Small samples were presented to other nations as gifts on the understanding they weren't sold to private collectors. So if this bloke in the Borders has some moondust then whoever he got it from has broken the law. He himself isn't guilty of anything, any more than somebody who buys a stolen car without knowing it.

With regard to having his photo taken up to orbit - that's impressive. I have a philatelic cover which was carried aboard STS-8 (along with 249,999 others) and though it's far from rare I'm quite proud of it. A few years ago I saw a photo of a toy Shuttle Orbiter floating around the cabin during an actual mission - the owner was a personal friend of one of the crew and persuaded him to take it along then return it afterwards. So he has a toy Orbiter which has actually been in orbit!

Edited by GordonD
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I just remembered: I OWN an acre of moon!!!!

It was a Christmas prezzie a few years ago, I even registered my "plot" on their website (forget what it is ATM), but i doubt i'll be doin a land survey any time soon...!

Apparently, it's legit...! only a tenner (at the time), & seeing how Earth real-estate is getting more scarce & costly, a bargain!!! :D

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I thought I'd replied to this but can't see my post anywhere.

The Americans don't claim to own the Moon in the sense of a piece of land but the rocks and stuff that they brought back do belong to the US Government. Small samples were presented to other nations as gifts on the understanding they weren't sold to private collectors. So if this bloke in the Borders has some moondust then whoever he got it from has broken the law. He himself isn't guilty of anything, any more than somebody who buys a stolen car without knowing it.

Thank you, Gordon - I was hoping someone would explain this nicely and not let this turn into another anti-American rant thread...

Apparently, this is quite a problem - there are some countries (and I understand all countries were given a piece) who didn't value their moonrock and NASA has had to re-claim quite a few that have been illegally sold or plain stolen.

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So... this chap has some moondust. And he lives in Scotland...

Let's just hope he doesn't go and sprinkle it around the place in Edinburgh. :yikes:

Enzo is referring to a novel called Moonseed, by Stephen Baxter. There's a scene in it where somebody has an illegally-acquired sample of Moondust, which he sprinkles on the slopes of Arthur's Seat, an extinct volcano in the centre of Holyrood Park in Edinburgh. And causes it to erupt, cataclysmically.

I can see Arthur's Seat from my window - it's about 1km away, and the novel describes how the row of houses that includes mine is wiped out by the devastation!

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If only there was a market for Earth dust on other planets. I could retire on what is on my work desk right now...

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Thank you, Gordon - I was hoping someone would explain this nicely and not let this turn into another anti-American rant thread...

Apparently, this is quite a problem - there are some countries (and I understand all countries were given a piece) who didn't value their moonrock and NASA has had to re-claim quite a few that have been illegally sold or plain stolen.

Hi,wasnt meant to be anti,anyone rant ,just seemed wierd,to go to great lengths to aquire,a rare item,then not be able to show or display it or not tell anyone,defeats the object to me?,,,,,,,,wait a minute.is it like modellers and their stash,ah maybe,i understand now?

gordond,Im suprised you dont know this bloke then,ian sheffield 66,a retired chartered engineer at the royal observatory,in your town.He now works in the visitor centre,ask nicely and he might show you it,good luck, Don

Edited by jetboy
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Really? So, who sold it to you ... and was he driving a yellow Reliant Regal?

Hi, its not anywhere near any landing sites is it,i know a man,who would take some scrap of your hands,and do a bit of landscaping at a reasonable price,it must be unsightly with all them tyre tracks,skid marks,and bootprints,all over your apron,or drive. cheers Don
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I thought I'd replied to this but can't see my post anywhere.

The Americans don't claim to own the Moon in the sense of a piece of land but the rocks and stuff that they brought back do belong to the US Government. Small samples were presented to other nations as gifts on the understanding they weren't sold to private collectors. So if this bloke in the Borders has some moondust then whoever he got it from has broken the law. He himself isn't guilty of anything, any more than somebody who buys a stolen car without knowing it.

With regard to having his photo taken up to orbit - that's impressive. I have a philatelic cover which was carried aboard STS-8 (along with 249,999 others) and though it's far from rare I'm quite proud of it. A few years ago I saw a photo of a toy Shuttle Orbiter floating around the cabin during an actual mission - the owner was a personal friend of one of the crew and persuaded him to take it along then return it afterwards. So he has a toy Orbiter which has actually been in orbit!

gordon,but surely if you buy a stolen car its normally taken away from you,and you lose both ways, Don

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gordon,but surely if you buy a stolen car its normally taken away from you,and you lose both ways, Don

Yes, you would lose the car and the money you paid for it, but the point is you haven't committed any crime as you didn't know the car was stolen. The guy with the moondust hasn't committed any crime by buying it, but whoever sold it to him has.

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I just remembered: I OWN an acre of moon!!!!

It was a Christmas prezzie a few years ago, I even registered my "plot" on their website (forget what it is ATM), but i doubt i'll be doin a land survey any time soon...!

Apparently, it's legit...! only a tenner (at the time), & seeing how Earth real-estate is getting more scarce & costly, a bargain!!! :D

So what happens if the Chinese wish to land on your plot? Can you charge them a fee per square meter?

If they wish to start digging up your plot, can you place an embargo on them to stop them from returning it to earth without your permission. I know it all sounds silly, but there are implications if you do have some Lunar real estate, unless your tenner only got you a few square meters.

Who do you approach if you have a sizable wad to spend on Lunar hectares?

When, I wonder will the Lunar "gold rush" start????

Mart

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Enzo is referring to a novel called Moonseed, by Stephen Baxter. There's a scene in it where somebody has an illegally-acquired sample of Moondust, which he sprinkles on the slopes of Arthur's Seat, an extinct volcano in the centre of Holyrood Park in Edinburgh. And causes it to erupt, cataclysmically.

I can see Arthur's Seat from my window - it's about 1km away, and the novel describes how the row of houses that includes mine is wiped out by the devastation!

Absolutely brilliant book I thought. Didn't the dust have a liquidising effect on basalt granite or something like that. Can't remember what happened in the end, but didn't Edinburgh just turn into one huge lava flow?

Stephen Baxter is next to Arthur C Clarke in my view. Just wish some of his books were made into movies.

Not sure how the Xeelee sequence of books would translate onto the big screen though. Raft would be just plain weird!!!

Martin

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Absolutely brilliant book I thought. Didn't the dust have a liquidising effect on basalt granite or something like that. Can't remember what happened in the end, but didn't Edinburgh just turn into one huge lava flow?

Stephen Baxter is next to Arthur C Clarke in my view. Just wish some of his books were made into movies.

Not sure how the Xeelee sequence of books would translate onto the big screen though. Raft would be just plain weird!!!

Martin

While we're waiting for the movies, how about this?

http://<iframe width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rrbvM5HuQRE?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

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  • 3 weeks later...

In the extras on For All Mankind DVD Buzz Aldrin mentions that the US Govt have taken ownership of the samples they brought to Earth. He uses bits off the patches from his spacesuit in his paintings. IIRC some was made available from the Soviet samples some years back but I think the Scottish sample came via a university lent a piece to study.

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I just remembered: I OWN an acre of moon!!!!

Apparently, it's legit

So if you own part of the lunar surface does that make you a lunatic. its the legit part that's the funniest. ;)

Now I have this nice Nigerian uncle who has just passed away and need your help in securing his inheritance.......

Edited by Pilgrim_UK
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In the extras on For All Mankind DVD Buzz Aldrin mentions that the US Govt have taken ownership of the samples they brought to Earth. He uses bits off the patches from his spacesuit in his paintings.

You mean Al Bean - he is now a professional painter specialising in space subjects (try saying that with a mouthful of Ritz crackers!)

http://www.alanbeangallery.com/

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It's not illegal to own pieces of moondust. It *is* illegal to own moon bits that were taken back by the Apollo missions. If any impact on the moon (or Mars or any other planet or moon) kicks up debris with a high enough velocity, said debris would leave the gravitational well of said heavenly body and could enter Earth's atmosphere and even touch ground here. There are plenty of these bits around and they are perfectly legal to own, either if you found them yourselves or if you bought them.

Apollo stuff, still illegal though

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