Page 28 - Demo

28 | September 2022
Them’s MY Dusty Bugs!
V
Slippery Rock Gazette
The Slippery Rock Marketplace
i
Insects and "lower life forms" were fed moon dust to test for toxicity.
There’s a new Viper in town
BBIndustriesLLC.com 800-575-4401
NASA wants its moon dust and test-bugs back.
The space agency has asked Boston-based RR Auction to halt the sale of moon dust collected during the 1969 Apollo 11 mission that had subsequently been fed to cockroaches during an experiment to determine if the lunar rock contained any sort of pathogen that posed a threat to terrestrial life.
The material, a NASA lawyer said in a letter to the auctioneer, still belongs to the federal government.
The material from the experiment, including a vial with about 40 milli- grams of moon dust and three cockroach carcasses, was expected to sell for at least $40,000, but has been pulled from the auction block, RR said.
“All Apollo samples, as stipulated in this collec- tion of items, belong to NASA and no person, uni- versity, or other entity has ever been given permission to keep them after analysis, destruction, or other use for any purpose, especially for sale or individual display,” said NASA’s letter dated June 15.
It went on: “We are requesting that you no lon- ger facilitate the sale of any and all items contain- ing the Apollo 11 Lunar Soil Experiment (the cockroaches, slides, and post-destructive testing specimen) by immediately stopping the bidding pro- cess,” NASA wrote.
In another letter dated June 22, NASA’s lawyer askedRRAuctiontowork with the current owner of the material to return it to the federal government.
The Apollo 11 mis- sion brought more than 47 pounds (21.3 kilograms) of lunar rock back to Earth. Some was fed to insects, fish and other small crea- tures to see if it would kill them.
The test-bugs that were fed moon dust were broughttotheUniversityof Minnesota where entomol- ogist Marion Brooks dis- sected and studied them.
“I found no evidence of infectious agents,” Brooks, who died in 2007, told the Minneapolis Tribune for an October 1969 story. She found no evidence that the moon material was toxic or caused any other ill effects in the insects, according to the article.
But the moon rock and the cockroaches were never returned to NASA, instead displayed at Brooks’ home. Her daughter sold them in 2010, and now they are up for sale again by a con- signor who RR did not disclose.
It’s not unusual for a third party to lay claim to some- thing that is being auc- tioned, said Mark Zaid, an attorney for RR Auction.
“NASA has a track record of pursuing items related to the early space programs,” although they have been inconsistent in doing so, Zaid said. By its own admission, NASA acknowledged in one of its letters that it did not know about the previous auction of the cockroach experi- ment items.
“We have worked with NASA before and have always cooperated with the U.S. government when they lay claims to items,” Zaid said. “At the end of the day, we want to act appropri- ately and lawfully.”
RR Auction is holding on to the lot for now, but ulti- mately, it’s up to the con- signor to work something out with NASA, he said.
Patented Undermount Sink Clips
FAST. SIMPLE. SECURE.
www.sinkits.com (417) 374-7373 info@sinkits.com
Fast. Flexible. Financing.1
Visit: Ascentium.info/Rock2022 1Financing dependent on credit parameters.
We produce durable, easy-to-use stone processing and handling equipment that will help the stone fabricator increase production while decreasing costs.
www.rye-corp.com
MADE IN THE USA
FAB KING • HUSKY • PRISM MITER RENEGADE • RYDRATOR • TILT-A-SLAB
BBIndustriesLLC.com 800-575-4401
Save BIG on Hercules stone transport solutions.
Material Handling • Air Tools • Electric Tools
TRENCH DRAINS • PITS • RAMPS • BRIDGE SAW WALLS FLOORS • JIB CRANE FOOTINGS •MACHINE FOUNDATIONS
CALL 877.999.1175 or 404.543.0446
ROCKCRETEUSA.COM SALES@ROCKCRETEUSA.COM
Experienced and Specializing in:
Training/ Calibration /Troubleshooting of OMAG CNCs Countertop production and fabrication stategies EasySTONE and EasySTONE-NCsoftware
Phone: (970) 309-4339 Email: jerry@kiddimprovements.com
U N T
E
R
T
O
C O P
M
A
O .
R
K
C E
T
I N G
Grow the Retail Side of your Countertop Company
You only get retail countertop jobs from word- of-mouth leads and referrals.
You’ve tried marketing in the past and it didn’t work to bring in jobs.
You don’t have a system to follow-up with homeowners in order to close more jobs.
BOOK A FREE STRATEGY CALL TODAY
to find out how we can help
https://countertopmarketingco.com/
RECESSION AHEAD!
Pressured to drop prices?
Backlog disappearing? Sales volume decreasing?
GET HELP.
BE PREPARED.
Sponsored By:
Fabricators Business Academy.com