Moon Rock in the Oval Office
January 29, 2021 12:35 PM Subscribe
Apollo 17 Lunar Sample 76015,143: chipped off a lunar boulder in 1972, now sitting on a table in the White House after a long, long journey.
Fantastic! I'm amazed by the detail recorded of which rock came from where. And now it's in Old Handsome Joe's office! That's a pretty good conversation piece.
posted by Capt. Renault at 1:27 PM on January 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Capt. Renault at 1:27 PM on January 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
"See that rock there? On the desk? That fucking rock came from the fucking moon! Yeah, the fucking moon in the fucking sky!"
posted by thatwhichfalls at 1:31 PM on January 29, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by thatwhichfalls at 1:31 PM on January 29, 2021 [8 favorites]
I love the moon rock on the president's desk. I like that it symbolizes putting science first and also as a symbolic push back against conspiracy theories.
I also like the fact that it reminded me about Apollo 17, which is my favorite Apollo mission, and the episode of From the Earth to the Moon, "Miles and Miles," which is based on that mission, and is my favorite episode of that show.
posted by Horkus at 1:34 PM on January 29, 2021 [7 favorites]
I also like the fact that it reminded me about Apollo 17, which is my favorite Apollo mission, and the episode of From the Earth to the Moon, "Miles and Miles," which is based on that mission, and is my favorite episode of that show.
posted by Horkus at 1:34 PM on January 29, 2021 [7 favorites]
I'm sure there's an ex-president out there sitting and fuming over this, mostly out of frustration that it would have never even occurred to him or anyone around him to even request a moon rock from NASA.
posted by St. Oops at 1:39 PM on January 29, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by St. Oops at 1:39 PM on January 29, 2021 [8 favorites]
Am I wrong to attach some extra symbolism to the rock here? This rock was on the last ship departing the moon, and we haven't been back. To me that's very very different than, say, a rock that Armstrong carried home himself on Apollo 11.
I kind of saw it as a desire to get us back to that point where an entire nation revered capital-S Science and astronauts, but I think that's just me. In reality I suppose Biden just wanted a moonrock paperweight like the rest of us.
posted by JoeZydeco at 2:00 PM on January 29, 2021 [11 favorites]
I kind of saw it as a desire to get us back to that point where an entire nation revered capital-S Science and astronauts, but I think that's just me. In reality I suppose Biden just wanted a moonrock paperweight like the rest of us.
posted by JoeZydeco at 2:00 PM on January 29, 2021 [11 favorites]
The rock isn’t on his desk, it’s on the bookshelf in the photo.
posted by Ideefixe at 2:03 PM on January 29, 2021
posted by Ideefixe at 2:03 PM on January 29, 2021
I'm joking. I really wouldn't expect a President to use a national artifact to hold things down. =)
posted by JoeZydeco at 2:07 PM on January 29, 2021
posted by JoeZydeco at 2:07 PM on January 29, 2021
I'm sure there's an ex-president out there sitting and fuming over this, mostly out of frustration that it would have never even occurred to him or anyone around him to even request a moon rock from NASA.
Which is interesting, because it did occur to him to really actually try to push the human space program towards a return to the Moon on a shorter time schedule, and to put in a NASA admin who contrasted himself with pretty much every other agency head appointed by that president by being notably competent (although, given Bridenstine's Tea Party background, that may have come as a surprise).
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 2:35 PM on January 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
Which is interesting, because it did occur to him to really actually try to push the human space program towards a return to the Moon on a shorter time schedule, and to put in a NASA admin who contrasted himself with pretty much every other agency head appointed by that president by being notably competent (although, given Bridenstine's Tea Party background, that may have come as a surprise).
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 2:35 PM on January 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
I want heavy-lift to GEO, and I want it in nineteen-seventy-fucking-eight, damnit. Time to end space shuttle/ISS compromises and set a national goal that means something. The capability to go wherever we want in space, whenever we want, subject only to minimum energy transfer orbits and consumables builds infrastructure for the investment. The infrastructure we WERE building with mercury, gemini, and apollo before fucking Nixon -- petulant fuck -- just had to shit on Kennedy's legacy in every possible way.
posted by mikelieman at 3:06 PM on January 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by mikelieman at 3:06 PM on January 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
Sent the thread to my brother, who appreciated it, but also pointed out (correctly, I think) how long it had been since he had seen pictures of the rest of the Oval Office.
Four years of that orange dude at the desk, filling up the frame because dog forgive anyone take a picture of something other than him.
posted by FallibleHuman at 4:24 PM on January 29, 2021 [4 favorites]
Four years of that orange dude at the desk, filling up the frame because dog forgive anyone take a picture of something other than him.
posted by FallibleHuman at 4:24 PM on January 29, 2021 [4 favorites]
I wonder who had the job of designing / building that protective display case for oddball national treasures like this.
Where do I apply? :)
Requires relocation to Washington DC you say? Ah well
posted by Cusp at 5:33 PM on January 29, 2021
Where do I apply? :)
Requires relocation to Washington DC you say? Ah well
posted by Cusp at 5:33 PM on January 29, 2021
I have a moon rock. It's a piece of the moon that was ejected by an impact, drifted in space for a few thousand years, then fell onto the earth. So it's a meteorite of lunar origin. I bought it at a fundraiser for my local university's meteorite laboratory. Having been sawed, it has a flat face revealing a complex structure. I don't have its particulars available right now, but it's about the size of a pat of butter and I paid something like $300. I collect meteorites, have about 20 specimens.
posted by neuron at 6:46 PM on January 29, 2021 [10 favorites]
posted by neuron at 6:46 PM on January 29, 2021 [10 favorites]
My first Astronomy class, professor had a sample on hold for years. When it arrived and it was something, the casing and documentation were hardcore. Doc got a rough value of the sample, though priceless, Take 4 billion dollars and divide by total weight of samples.
like a tulip in 1636.
posted by clavdivs at 7:08 PM on January 29, 2021
like a tulip in 1636.
posted by clavdivs at 7:08 PM on January 29, 2021
Neuron, what kind of structure is present in that flat face? Is it a Widmanstätten pattern, or something else?
posted by phooky at 7:52 PM on January 29, 2021
posted by phooky at 7:52 PM on January 29, 2021
When the photos of Trump's interior design getting packed up and shipped back came out, someone pointed out that the President can basically just call up the Smithsonian and ask for anything and my immediate thought was "moon rock".
posted by ckape at 8:56 PM on January 29, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by ckape at 8:56 PM on January 29, 2021 [4 favorites]
Green Acres 'The Beeping Rock' : "Only three people in the world know about this: you, me, and the president of the United States..."
posted by ovvl at 9:45 PM on January 29, 2021
posted by ovvl at 9:45 PM on January 29, 2021
I'm sure there's an ex-president out there sitting and fuming over this, mostly out of frustration that it would have never even occurred to him or anyone around him to even request a moon rock from NASA
The under-the-table resale value alone would pay off the vig to least one creditor. Maybe two.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 8:08 AM on January 30, 2021 [2 favorites]
The under-the-table resale value alone would pay off the vig to least one creditor. Maybe two.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 8:08 AM on January 30, 2021 [2 favorites]
it would have never even occurred to him or anyone around him to even request a moon rock from NASA
I'm kind of hoping that he did ask - and that they said no.
posted by Cardinal Fang at 1:38 PM on January 30, 2021
I'm kind of hoping that he did ask - and that they said no.
posted by Cardinal Fang at 1:38 PM on January 30, 2021
it would have never even occurred to him or anyone around him to even request a moon rock from NASA
I'm kind of hoping that he did ask - and that they said no.
“Moon rock? Hell, no, we can’t trust that guy with a moon rock! If he doesn’t lose it or sell it, he’ll probably hurt himself on it. Here, paint this sponge gray and we’ll just tell him it’s a moon rock. He’ll never know the difference. If you need some help, ask the guys who made sure Junior Bush never got his hands on any sharp pencils or pointy scissors.”
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:01 PM on January 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'm kind of hoping that he did ask - and that they said no.
“Moon rock? Hell, no, we can’t trust that guy with a moon rock! If he doesn’t lose it or sell it, he’ll probably hurt himself on it. Here, paint this sponge gray and we’ll just tell him it’s a moon rock. He’ll never know the difference. If you need some help, ask the guys who made sure Junior Bush never got his hands on any sharp pencils or pointy scissors.”
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:01 PM on January 30, 2021 [1 favorite]
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posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:15 PM on January 29, 2021