[meteorite-list] AMATEURS BEAT NASA TO MARS METEORITES

From: David Freeman <dfreeman_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:44:14 2004
Message-ID: <3B37B07C.1EBA0A9A_at_fascination.com>

Dear Allan and List;
My former experience with federal government and its institutions makes me smirk
when I think about this whole post....My local and state level BLM gave me
verbal permission to file claims on any public land meteorites...MMmmmm.....???
Best,
Dave F.

"Treiman, Allan" wrote:

> Well, I can't speak officially for NASA or for individual NASA-funded
> investigators, or for the Curator at JSC, but here's how I understand
> things.
>
> NASA does not collect or buy non-Antarctic meteorites. NASA as
> a whole is not directed to collect non-Antarctic meteorites, and so it
> does not do so. NASA does not officially own even the Antarctic
> meteorites. They are "owned" by the Smithsonian Institution. And
> NASA/JSC takes care of them while they are being actively studied, and
> eventually sends them off the the Smithsonian. To my knowledge, NASA
> is not involved in collecting in NWA, Oman, etc.
>
> Of course, any scientist (NASA funded or not) can buy anything he
> wants to, but that does not mean that NASA itself is involved.
>
> As for recovering more meteorites, there is talk of running two ANSMET
> meteorite expeditions to Antarctica in the future.
>
> Would you really want NASA or some other government agency to get
> involved in meteorite recovery in the US? Wouldn't that take meteorites away
> from you and the commercial market, and put them solely in the hands
> of the scientific community? If you are concerned, how about taking all
> those
> meteorites found on public lands and handing them over to the Smithsonian!
>
> Allan
>
> Allan H. Treiman
> Lunar and Planetary Institute
> 3600 Bay Area Boulevard
> Houston, TX 77058-1113
>
> 281-486-2117
> 281-486-2162 FAX
> treiman_at_lpi.usra.edu
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Robert Verish [SMTP:bolidechaser_at_yahoo.com]
> > Sent: Monday, June 25, 2001 3:09 PM
> > To: meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com
> > Subject: [meteorite-list] AMATEURS BEAT NASA TO MARS METEORITES
> >
> > Ah, the perfect article.
> > There's something to offend everyone... ;-)
> >
> > First off, is NASA even looking for meteorites, let
> > alone Mars rocks in Africa?
> >
> > I know somebody posted a message to this List alluding
> > to a connection between NASA and NWA meteorites, but
> > can anybody substantiate that rumor? I'd like to see
> > some of that "Mars Sample Return" money spent on
> > meteorite recovery right here at home.
> >
> > Yo! NASA! Homeboy here, ready when you are.
> >
> > Got a team ready, too! Just three more finds and we
> > can tie the score, dude.
> >
> > Oh! And in order to de-fuse any irate replies, let me
> > just say that when Bruno said, "our rivals are
> > prepared to do anything to get their hands on them and
> > some are
> > very violent", he wasn't talking about either NASA or
> > Mike Farmer...
> >
> > :-)
> > Bob V.
> >
> > --- entropydave <entropydave_at_ic24.net> wrote:
> > > Thought you may wish to see this article in today's
> > > Times newspaper, dated
> > > 25th June 2001
> > >
> > > "AMATEURS BEAT NASA TO MARS METEORITES"
> > >
> > > Adam Sage, Paris.
> > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~
> > >
> > > Two French adventurers have beaten NASA in the
> > > search for meteorites from
> > > Mars to produce evidence that will shed light on the
> > > evolution of the Red
> > > planet.
> > >
> > > In the cut-throat world of "star hunting", Bruno
> > > Fectay, 30 and Carine
> > > Bidaut, 25, have found four of only 20 Martian
> > > meteorites ever found on
> > > Earth.
> > > The meteorites were thrown from Mars when it
> > > collided with an asteroid about
> > > 10 million years ago. they floated around space and
> > > landed in the Sahara
> > > hundreds, or perhaps, thousands of years ago.
> > > One of the stones has revealed apparent traces of
> > > water under the planet's
> > > surface, seen by scientists as a key piece in the
> > > puzzle that eventually may
> > > explain why life failed to develop on Mars.
> > > With the meteorites sometimes worth millions of
> > > pounds each, the success of
> > > the French pair, who employ a group of desert
> > > nomads, has excited jealousy.
> > > "We have had to put them in a bank safe because our
> > > rivals are prepared to
> > > do anything to get their hands on them and some are
> > > very violent," M Fectay
> > > said. "Our rivals have tried every trick."
> > > M Fectay and Mme Bidaut are self-taught amateurs who
> > > began travelling across
> > > the Sahara desert three years ago and have since
> > > found hundreds of
> > > meteorites, including four from Mars. No team has
> > > ever been so successful.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > In gentle decay,
> > > d.
> > >
> > > http://www.meteorites.ic24.net/index.html
> > >
> > > http://www.thc.u-net.com/davethc1.htm
> > >
> > >
> > > "I have a proof that x^n+y^n=z^n never has integer
> > > solutions for n>2.
> > > However, it won't fit into my signature file...."
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Meteorite-list mailing list
> > > Meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com
> > >
> > http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
> >
> >
> >
> > __________________________________________________
> > Do You Yahoo!?
> > Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail
> > http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Meteorite-list mailing list
> > Meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com
> > http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>
> _______________________________________________
> Meteorite-list mailing list
> Meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com
> http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Received on Mon 25 Jun 2001 05:43:25 PM PDT