[meteorite-list] Laws and Lunar-cy

From: cdtucson at cox.net <cdtucson_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2011 18:18:58 -0500
Message-ID: <20110204181858.0MZT2.1099115.imail_at_fed1rmwml43>

David,
Not to beat a dead horse but, we are talking about legal precedents here.
How can you (NASA) give something away and have it still "technically" be theirs"? I know you are talking about Congress so, these absurd scenario's exist but, really? They still own it? I seriously doubt that would hold up in court. Isn't that "Indian Giving"? Did these recipients including foreign Govs and top execs sign something to that effect? I think not. If I were on the jury in that trial I would have to tell our Government to { well you know what I mean}. I know they restrict sales of a lot of things but, restricting ownership of something they gave you is ridiculous. But again, it does sound like something our mental midgets in Congress would do and say. Sorry.
Carl

--
Carl or Debbie Esparza
Meteoritemax
---- "David R. Vann" <drvann at sas.upenn.edu> wrote: 
> 
> A careful reading of entries in the Congressional Record would support the
> following:
> 
> All specimens brought back from the Apollo missions are owned by the U.S.
> Government, and are under the purview of NASA. Some few samples were given out
> during that period as 'good will' gifts. These were to other governments, and
> their whereabouts are largely known. The sample given to the Honduran gov. ended
> up in private hands. Samples given to astronauts in honor of their service
> cannot be sold by the astronaut, nor their heirs. If the family no longer wants
> the sample, it can be 'loaned' to a museum, or returned to NASA. ALL samples
> loaned out or 'donated' by NASA are *technically* still theirs, and remain under
> their purview. They can be recalled at any time for 'research ' purposes.
> Nowhere is there a specific statute saying it is illegal to own lunar samples.
> It is, however, illegel to posses someone else's stuff. Consequently, we don't
> need a staute explicitly limiting your possession of samples that are legally
> owned by NASA. Ergo, unless there there is a clear legal trail (such as for the
> camera cartridge dust), there are no samples of lunar material out there that
> you can lay claim to. 
> A friend/colleague of mine worked on the Apollo samples back when. He indicates
> that it is not inconceivable that someone 'removed' tiny pieces that  went
> unaccounted for in the all the chemical, etc. analyses done back then, but
> things were pretty tight. Any such pieces are essentially untraceable and un
> -provenanced (if such is a word). And, if it can be proved that it is a real
> lunar sample, NASA can take it back, as it would have been obtained under false
> pretenses, i.e. theft.
> 
> So, there is a law, it says you can't take other's stuff. The legislature did
> not a need to write another law that says, you can't take NASA's stuff. But,
> what's NASA's is NASA's, and they can take it back from you if you have it.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> David R. Vann, Ph.D.
> Department of Earth and Environmental Science
> THE UNIVERSITY of PENNSYLVANIA
> 240 S. 33rd St.
> Philadelphia, PA 19104-6316
> drvann at sas.upenn.edu
> office: 215-898-4906
> FAX: 215-898-0964
> 
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Received on Fri 04 Feb 2011 06:18:58 PM PST