Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/10/30/auction-the-only-moon-rocks-r.html
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I got a few extra bucks for it, but that’s my top dog dollar.
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I just want that fancy box with its own magnifying glass attached.
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Are they in mint condition and never been removed from their packaging?
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I have some Martian meteorite embedded in my wedding band. It looks like concrete, but during Martian opposition it grants me a superpower of getting 1/2 off my second pint of beer, anywhere in the world.
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Moon rocks are a test case for space law; everything in our system belongs to humanity itself (and any sapient life on the other planets), not who ever plants a flag first, and so it’s exploitation would require the consensus of all human leadership.
A difficult and inconvenient proposition, given how selfish and stupid our species really is as a whole.
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I find myself wondering if these moon rocks’ supposed value will plummet once companies start shipping back moon rocks to sell as promotional souvenirs. Maybe their historical value will help them retain some of that monetary value, but it’s hard to imagine they won’t still be severely devalued from their current bidding price.
I wonder if commercial space companies will pull a De Beers and keep the price artificially inflated by hoarding their supply.
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Are the smaller pieces going to be worth a disproportionately higher price?
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For meteorites, buying ‘in bulk’ generally drives down pricing. A few sub-gram crumbs of Martian or Lunar meteorite cost more per gram than a full slice weighing several grams. Pricing also depends on rarity and type; a scientifically unusual type is more valuable than ‘common’ regolith. There was a fall several years ago, Tagish Lake, that has retained a high price, because it’s a rare specimen, either from an asteroid we have not studied before or possibly a comet; very ‘primitive’.
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That can’t be right - I read Stranger in a Strange Land.
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False advertising; there is no soil on the moon. These are regolith samples.
That’s pleasantly topsy turvy: the capitalist moon rocks have been socialized and the socialist moon rocks have been capitalized.
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Wut? Are you so naive that you think we only have one moon?
Clearly NASA is outdoing DeBeers manyfold by keeping our other four moons secret. This so that they can increase the (perceived) value of their mission to the moons it was easiest to land on.
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That’s nothing compared to the probe footage they’re hiding of Counter Earth.
My girlfriend lives on Counter Earth. She’s a model.
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If I were a billionaire I’d buy those mooncrumbs and chuck 'em in the ocean.
- Hear everyone’s jaw hitting the floor in unison
- Share a little lesson about what’s really important in life
- Better than using the money to bulldoze a national park
#StopTheMadness
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