A fall of moon dust; Space and the law.

Economist (US), The, January, 2006

Yours for $325 a milligram

A sample collected by Apollo 11 almost goes on sale

"LOT 195 has apparently gone back to the moon. It has been withdrawn from sale." Thus spake Jon Baddeley, head of scientific instruments at Bonhams auctioneers in London on January 24th. Lot 195, by its full description, was "A sample of moon dust from the Apollo landing, July 1969." The lot was a small glass phial with a cork stopper containing 31.2 milligrams of dust collected by the first men on the moon. It was attached to an annotated laboratory label. Bonhams estimated its value as [pounds sterling]300-400 ($540-715).

The reason for the withdrawal was that the anonymous seller of the sample may not be its legal owner. According to Art Dula, professor of space...

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