NASA wants its moon dust and experiment cockroaches back

NASA has urged Boston-based RR Auction to stop selling the moon dust that was obtained during the 1969 Apollo mission and fed to cockroaches in an experiment to see if it contained any pathogens that presented a hazard to terrestrial life. RR said that the experiment materials included three cockroaches’ carcasses with a vial containing 40 milligrammes of moon dust, which was supposed to fetch at least USD 400,000 at auction but has been removed. As reported by AP, a NASA lawyer in a letter to the auctioneer said that the material still belonged to the federal government.

More than 47 pounds (21.3 kilos) of lunar rock was returned to Earth during the mission. To see if it would kill them, some were fed to different types of animals.

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No person, university or any other organisation has ever been given the permission to preserve Apollo samples after the analysis, or for any other usage, as per letter of NASA on June 15.

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Marion Brooks, an entomologist dissected and studied the fed cockroaches after they were sent to the University of Minnesota. Brook who passed away in 2007 in conversation with Minneapolis Tribune for a story in October 1969 said, “I found no evidence of infectious agents.” She further said that she didn’t discover any proof that the lunar material was harmful or had negative impacts.

However, Brook kept the moon rock and cockroaches instead of giving them back to the space agency. Later they were sold by her daughter in the year 2010 and now are being sold again by RR.

RR’s attorney Zaid Mark said, “NASA has a track record of pursuing items related to the early space programmes.”

As per NASA’s own admission, it was unaware of the earlier cockroach experiment item auction.

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(With inputs from agencies)