jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Here's a weird story. There will be an auction of moon dust, and it is expected to bring in over $400,000. It was auctioned off in 2010, and that's how much it sold for then.

This is no ordinary moon dust, though - not the stuff you might be able to order from Amazon. In the early days of moon exploration, scientists didn't know much about the moon. Would the astronauts sink into the dust? Would there be harmful bacteria? You probably remember how the astronauts were isolated in an Airstream when they returned, just in case they had picked up any diseases.

To play it safe, they mixed in moon dust with food for fish and cockroaches. Then they did autopsies to see if the dust had done them any harm. The woman who did all of this saved the dust in jars. After her death, it was auctioned off. Now it's being auctioned off again.

So, if you want moon dust that was removed from the stomachs of cockroaches, crack open that piggy bank.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=816ru7RhVs8

therwol Loc: USA

Did the laws on private ownership of moon dust change? It was illegal as recently as 2011 when a sample illegally stolen was recovered. (Technicians who were supposed to develop the film taken on the Apollo 11 mission found moon dust in one of the camera that had been dropped to the surface. They stole a small sample of it and sold it.)

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-13907120

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

That surprised me, too, but I don't know how that works. If no one bothered about the auction in 2010, there must be a reason why.

As for someone selling "camera moon dust," how would he prove it was moon dust?!

chikid68 Loc: Tennesse USA

I don't think that the problem was possession of the moon dust but that it was stolen from NASA