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Alabama Man Sold a Priceless Apollo-Era Lunar Rover Protoype For Scrap Metal (vice.com)

Posted by Soulskill on from the must-be-related-to-florida-man dept.

Jason Koebler writes: An Alabama man allowed an Apollo-era lunar rover prototype to rot in his backyard before ultimately selling it to a junkyard for scrap metal last year, according to documents acquired from NASA as part of a Freedom of Information Act request. NASA spent much of 2014 attempting to acquire the priceless artifact for display in a museum, but it was ultimately destroyed before the agency could recover it.

13 of 241 comments (clear)

  1. I'll bite by kencurry · · Score: 3, Funny

    What the heck was he doing with a lunar rover prototype in Alabama?

    --
    sigs are for losers (except to point out that sigs are for losers)
    1. Re:I'll bite by cdrudge · · Score: 4, Insightful

      NASA dragged its feet contacting the new owner, who apparently didn't know its value.

      Sure NASA dragged it's feet. But I wonder if the historian walked over to the neighbor's house, knocked on the door, and mentioned that he though the guy had a piece of priceless artifact from NASA's history just sitting there. Even if the guy wasn't interested in contacting NASA right then, at least he would have known before he just scrapped it.

    2. Re:I'll bite by Kichigai+Mentat · · Score: 4, Funny

      He built it one piece at a time, and it didn't cost him a dime!

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      Rawr
    3. Re: I'll bite by Coren22 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Just look at the treatment to Lee's battle flag recently, that is pure racism against the people who fought for state's rights. (hint, the average southerner had nothing to do with slavery, the slave owners were too wealthy to fight in the war).

      Racism is ok (to the Democrats) when it is white people that are the butt of the joke, they also don't like Asians for some reason, so making fun of natives of India, and China, is perfectly acceptable, but talk about how 90% of gang violence is black people, or that there are crimes being committed against the Hispanics crossing the border (as Trump did), and suddenly you are a terrible racist.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
  2. one joke, one explaination by Thud457 · · Score: 5, Funny

    1. up on blocks.
    2. Huntsville.

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    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  3. He probably has a grudge by Hognoxious · · Score: 4, Funny

    He probably has a grudge against NASA for proving that the Earth isn't flat.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    1. Re:He probably has a grudge by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You think it's funny to laugh about the 'ignorant' Alabama-man because it is easier than wrapping your brain around the fact that Alabama put man on the moon.

  4. More relevant title by Rurik · · Score: 5, Insightful

    NASA Agency Bureaucracy Lets Historic Antique Slip From Their Fingers

    If it didn't take them six months to reach out... Even a quick call "Hey, this is NASA. We heard you have one of our rovers. Could we just send someone over to verify?"

  5. Just like Southpark episode by JoeyRox · · Score: 3, Funny

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

  6. Re:Not a loss - this is the correct outcome. by Aboroth · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That is an extremely short-sighted viewpoint. Money isn't everything. First of all, if all you care about it direct funding from it, they would easily be able to monetize this by reselling it at auction. Putting it in a museum would enrich people's lives, which is invaluable. Having displays with things like this, are ways people get inspired to do what they can to help in space exploration, either through their own talents or with donations. These "antiques" could very well inspire the next generation of space explorers, which are kind of necessary because the ones we have now are expected to die at some point.

  7. no you didn't by publiclurker · · Score: 5, Funny

    America put a man on the moon, we just used your real estate so if anything went wrong, nothing important would be damaged.

  8. spent much of 2014 attempting to acquire by Culture20 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    NASA spent much of 2014 attempting to acquire the priceless artifact for display in a museum

    Sounds like they didn't try too hard if they couldn't compete with a scrap yard.

  9. The headline is all wrong! by cmeans · · Score: 4, Funny

    Should read..."Alabama Man Removes Junk from His Yard". Of course, no one would believe it.

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    Give a hand, not a hand-out.