NASA secretly launched a moon rock into space to celebrate lunar landing's 40th

Robert Pearlman of collectspace.com says, "Forty years to the day after it was found and collected by Neil Armstrong, a moon rock is helping NASA mark the anniversary of the first lunar landing from on-board a perch that is closer than any Apollo-returned lunar sample has ever come to its original home."

Full story on Robert's blog here. Image above: The Apollo 11 moon rock, seen here before its launch, is now on the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA/collectSPACE).

[#1 posted by Anonymous, July 21, 2009 1:22 PM]

a waste of our government money, they should donate this rock to a museum or better yet auction it off to raise funds for furthering space exploration and science education...

[#2 posted by querent, July 21, 2009 2:58 PM]

@1

people thinking science is cool, and investing themselves emotionally, is just as important.

[#3 posted by neurolux, July 21, 2009 4:48 PM]

Aren't there enough moon rocks in space?

[#4 posted by nosehat, July 21, 2009 5:18 PM]

Why "secretly"?

[#5 posted by coop, July 21, 2009 5:31 PM]

@5 - I suggest you try clicking on the link to read the story. Kind of answers your question.

coop

[#6 posted by EH, July 21, 2009 11:49 PM]

#1: Auction? To whom? Moon dust and rocks are controlled substances.

[#7 posted by Anonymous, July 22, 2009 3:02 AM]

Is this not a bit pointless? Is there a shortage of Moon rocks on the Moon?

[#8 posted by Michael Smith, July 22, 2009 4:53 AM]

#7,

Does that mean I can go to jail if I make and sell artificial moon dust?