Q&A on the News

Q: Will we ever go back to the moon? Where can I get a piece of moon rock? — RALPH RHYNE, SNELLVILLE

A: A crewed mission to the moon is expected to happen in 2023, according to NASA.

“The Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft are critical backbone elements of NASA’s future in deep space. The momentum continues this year toward the first integrated launch of the system in fiscal year 2020 around the moon and a crewed mission in 2023,” according to a 2018 update on NASA.gov.

The Space Launch System (SLS) will launch astro- nauts in Orion to “deep space exploration missions to the Moon and beyond,” according to NASA.gov.

As for owning moon rock, the U.S. “considers the samples to be a national treasure and theft of such falls under the laws applying to theft of government property,” Robert Pearlman, founder and editor of collectspace. com, which is described as a news publication and online community for space history enthusiasts and professionals, told The Washington Post.

“No Apollo moon rock or loose quantity of moon dust has ever been sold legally,” he said in a 2018 story.

The value of moon rocks are about $300,000 a gram, based on an assessment by NASA, the Post reported. The story noted that some moon rocks from the Soviet Luna missions in the 1970s have sold in legal auctions.

RICK BOWMER / ASSOCIATED PRESS Lindsie Smith of the Clark Planetarium in Salt Lake City shows off encased moon rocks, which have never been sold in the U.S. legally. According to an online space history site, the U.S. “considers the samples to be a national treasure and theft of such falls under the laws applying to theft of government property.”