NASA Wants Its Moon Dust and Cockroaches Back from RR Auction | Here's The Story

NASA wants to take back its moon dust and cockroaches from the RR Auction .

Lunar Dust Fed to Cockroaches

The lunar dust was fed to cockroaches in an experiment to see if it contained any pathogens that presented a hazard to terrestrial life. Now, the space agency has urged Boston-based RR Auction to stop selling the moon dust obtained during the 1969 Apollo 11 mission.

A NASA lawyer claimed the material still belonged to the federal government, according to their letter addressed to the auctioneer.

The experiment's materials, which included a vial containing roughly 40 milligrams of lunar dust and three cockroach corpses, were supposed to cost at least $400,000 at the auction but have since been removed on Thursday, according to RR.

According to NASA's letter, "no person, university, or other entity" is given permission to preserve Apollo samples after its experiment, destruction, or any usage, especially for sale or private display.

The space agency ultimately urged the RR auction to stop the bidding process for the materials immediately.

As noted by Phys, NASA's attorney requested that RR Auction work with the current owner of the material and restore it to the federal government, stated in a letter dated June 22.

The Apollo 11 Mission

More than 21.3 kilos or 47 pounds of lunar rock were returned to Earth by the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. The material was fed to insects, fish, and several small animals to see if it would end their lives.

RR Auction first declined NASA's demand to halt the auction, requesting that the agency provide a clearer justification for its decision, legally and factually. After more discussion, however, RR eventually changed its position.

Entomologist Marion Brooks examined and researched the cockroaches that had been fed with moon dust at the University of Minnesota.

For a piece in October 1969, Brooks, who passed away in 2007, told the Minneapolis Tribune that she didn't discover any proof that the lunar material was harmful or had any other negative impacts on the insects.

However, Brooks kept the moon rock and the cockroaches instead of giving them back to NASA. They were sold by her daughter in 2010, and a seller who RR withheld their identity is now offering them for sale once more.

Regarding the auction from 12 years ago, NASA's lawyer stated that the space agency " is not aware of such auction."

The attorney contends that the auction nullifies any conceivable legality or propriety of the selling of the objects and, as such, the ongoing sale of the items is an "improper and illegal disposition.

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Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla