A NASA picture taken in 1972 shows a close-up view or “mug shot” of Apollo 16 lunar sample no. 68815, a dislodged fragment from a parent boulder. Researchers have sticky fingers when it comes to NASA’s moon rocks and meteorites, and hundreds of samples have gone missing after being loaned out by the US space agency, an audit said Thursday. (AFP)
Hundreds of NASA’s moon rocks are missing according to a recent audit.
The AFP reported:
Researchers have sticky fingers when it comes to NASA’s moon rocks and meteorites, and hundreds of samples have gone missing after being loaned out by the US space agency, an audit said Thursday.
NASA Inspector General Paul Martin issued a report detailing foibles such as the US space agency making loans to researchers who never used the samples, or simply losing track of rare pieces dating back to the first US trip to the Moon in 1969.
“According to NASA records, 517 loaned astromaterials have been lost or stolen between 1970 and June 2010,” said the report.
They should probably go check Bill Clinton’s office again…
Last year a missing moon rock was found with Bill Clinton’s governor papers from Arkansas.