[meteorite-list] Rocks from Space Picture of the Day - August 26, 2010 thanks to the Hupes

From: Richard Kowalski <damoclid_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2010 10:07:19 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <779010.9001.qm_at_web113606.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>

--- On Thu, 8/26/10, Steve Dunklee <steve.dunklee at yahoo.com> wrote:

> ... As an example. How many billions of dollars has it
> cost to send a probe to Vesta?

$0.45 Billion and this includes a second asteroid, Ceres. You could say the Vesta mission is less than half that since the extended mission would be at Ceres. While sounding high, this is typical of this type of mission. If distributed between among all US taxpayers, this works out to 1/3 of a cup of mud from Charbucks or several good cups of coffee.


> And how much material from
> vesta or the moon could be found right here on earth if a
> few million dollars was spent to actively search for rocks
> from space here on earth?


None. Lunars are known to be lunars only because we went ot the moon and brought back samples. Martians are only known to be Martians because we've sent spacecraft to that planet and smelled the air & tasted the soil.

HEDs are suspected of coming from Vesta, but until Dawn arrives there and examines and measures that body in situ, HEDs coming from Vesta is still not a proven fact.

> Imagine how much could be found if
> the succesful hunters were given government grants to hunt
> full time? Have a great day! Steve

That happens every year, in Antarctica.
To be honest, successful hunters are doing a great job finding material now, and often get much greater rewards by hunting in the name of capitalism. Remember, if they find them now, the rocks and the profits are theirs to keep. If they are funded by a government, they get their salaries and the government keeps all the rocks.

Free enterprise is a much better route to finding meteorites, for everyone.

Richard Kowalski


      
Received on Thu 26 Aug 2010 01:07:19 PM PDT