Hookup to Unhook the Moon
Take part in a scientific project and unhook the moon!
A crowdfunding campaign is being organized to help researchers Natural History Museum of Vienna, to acquire, display and analyze fragments of a meteorite of lunar origin found less than a year ago in Western Sahara.
Oued Awlitis 001
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The main fragment of the meteorite of lunar origin Oued Awlitis 001 just after its discovery in Western Sahara on 15 January 2014.
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With over 1100 samples exposed the meteorite collection of the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Austria, is one of the largest and oldest in the world. Ludovic Ferriere, a young French researcher born in 1982, Doctor of Geology and passionate terrestrial and extraterrestrial rocks, is the chief curator of collections of rocks and co-curator of the meteorite collection of the NHM since 2011. As such, he recently launched a crowdfunding campaign on the site
ulule to acquire fragments of a meteorite of lunar origin.
Oued Awlitis 001
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The scientific study of lunar meteorite Oued Awlitis 001 will include work to accurately determine its age, the duration of its tour in the solar system and to have an idea of the time that elapsed between its fall on our planet and its discovery.
© Ludovic Ferriere
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The objective of this campaign is multiple. This is, of course, to present to the public one of the larger pieces of Moon available on Earth, but also to study in detail several small fragments of this block all scientific means of investigation available today. It is, finally, to preserve this unique sample for generations and future research. The market for meteorites is indeed very rapidly in recent years, too many samples disappear into private collections before they could be analyzed by scientists.
Oued Awlitis 001
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These three small fragments of lunar meteorite Oued Awlitis 001 will be used for scientific analyzes if the Vienna Natural History Museum managed to acquire through its crowdfunding campaign.
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This interest in stones fallen from the sky causes the market to rise and the NHM needs € 110,000 to acquire the pieces of this meteorite and fund their analyses. Discovered January 15, 2014 in Western Sahara and called Oued Awlitis 001 this fallen meteorite collection includes several fragments. The largest, measuring 7.7 cm in its largest dimension and weighs 362 g, will be incorporated into public collections of the NHM and may be used by scientists in non-destructive testing. Three other smaller fragments will be studied by researchers around the world under the direction of Ludovic Ferriere.
Naturhistorisches Museum
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| View of the hall of meteorites Naturhistorisches Museum. |
€ 110,000 is a nice amount of money, but it's nothing compared to the costs involved in a mission to return lunar samples! Everyone can contribute to its means starting from € 5 and if the amount collected is less than the expected € 110,000, donors will be refunded in full. In a recent email, Ludovic Ferriere pointed out to French science news journalist Guillaume Cannat that among the first donors, a 7 year old had contributed € 250 in order to hold the moon rock in his hand and his dream of interplanetary travel. I propose Jean-Victor Meyers switches to using scientific philanthropy in an exemplary manner, from a small share of the money he will win with the improbable sale of his cashmere sweaters, and participate in this campaign Lunar financing!
Participate in the
Help us Unhook the Moon project!
For more about meteors and UFOs and how they both rock our world, see this video:
