How much does a real moonstone cost?

NASA estimated the value of the rocks at about $50,800 per gram in 1973 dollars, based on the total cost of retrieving the samples. That works out to just a hair over $300,000 per year. grams in today's currency.

Is it legal to own moonstone?

Although NASA's lunar missions returned more than 842 pounds of moon rock to Earth, it is illegal for private citizens to own any of it (lunar meteorites are perfectly legal, however). Instead, lunar samples were used as goodwill gifts to 135 countries and each of the 50 states.

Can you buy a moon rock from NASA?

NASA is officially in the market for moon rocks — and it's willing to pay any company capable of scooping them up. If satisfied, NASA promises to buy the samples for between $15,000 and $25,000. Eventually, NASA will retrieve the rock samples and bring them back to Earth.

Who stole the moon rocks?

It's Roberts
Thad Roberts stole 101 grams of moon rock from a NASA facility while he was interning with the US space agency in 2002 to 'have sex on the moon'. The moon rocks collected by Apollo astronauts are among the most valuable substances locked away at the NASA facility.

Where are the moon rocks found on Earth?

Both rounds of samples have met scattered fates: some treasured and displayed, some lost, some tucked away in storage. They are the only moon rocks that do not legally belong to the US government; the remainder of the collection remains with NASA, based in a laboratory at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

How many moon rocks are missing from the moon?

Stolen and missing moonstones. Of the 270 Apollo 11 Moon Rocks and Apollo 17 Goodwill Moon Rocks given to the nations of the world by the Nixon Administration, approximately 180 not accounted for.

Are there any rocks on the Moon that you can touch?

Some moon rocks from the Apollo missions are displayed in museums, and a few allow visitors to touch them. One of these, called Touch Rock, is on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. The idea of touchable moon rocks in a museum was proposed by Apollo scientist Farouk El-Baz,…

Are there any pieces of the Moon on Earth?

The Apollo moon rocks are not the only pieces of the moon on Earth, but they are unique in that they were collected by astronauts on the lunar surface. Three robotic missions carried out by the Soviet…