Murph Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 Linkage Lunar Rover Is Spotted For First Time In 37 Years This photo from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the Lunkokhod 2 rover's resting place. The black arrow indicates where the tracks begin — the white arrow and dot shows the rover. Arrows placed by Phil Stooke, geography professor at University of Western Ontario Richard Garriott has many accomplishments to his name — he's a successful video game developer and one of fewer than 10 private citizens to travel into space. Now he even owns property on the moon. "I am the world’s only private owner of an object on a celestial body," he says. The object he's referring to is the Lunokhod 2 rover. The Lunokhod 2 is a Russian space vehicle that landed on the moon in 1973 — and stopped working that same year. Even though no one knew exactly where the rover was, it went up for sale at a 1993 Sotheby’s auction in New York, and Garriott handed over $68,500 for it. Last Monday, scientists spotted the Lunokhod 2 rover for the first time in 37 years. "As soon as I saw this new data, I did a recheck of the findings, and there’s no question that they have the right target. It's my Lunokhod 2," Garriott says. Garriott says he’s thrilled to finally have photos of his "private flag sitting on the moon." "My rover has traveled over 40 kilometers. It has tilled the soil or turned the soil with its wheels and it has surveyed land as far as the eye can see — or as far as its cameras can see," he says. His obsession with space started early. When he was a teenager, long before he made his fortune developing computer games, he dreamt about space. It was in his blood. His father, Owen K. Garriott, was a NASA astronaut who spent over two months in space back in the 1970s. But one day, a doctor told young Garriott that he would not be able to continue his father's legacy; his poor eyesight, the doctor said, would make him ineligible to be a NASA astronaut. "So as a teenager, I devoted myself to the privatization of space, so that I could find my own way into space," Garriott says. He succeeded. Back in 2008, Garriott actually went to the International Space Station and became the first second-generation astronaut in history. Now that the exact location of his moon rover has been determined, he's ready to plan another trip. "When I made this acquisition, I thought the probability of getting the chance to go to the moon and see, first-hand, my rover was as close to zero as would be reasonable to consider," he says. "I actually think the odds are considerably greater than zero now. "I will hopefully, at least, get to see it from lunar orbit, and perhaps even from the ground." Hmmm... Abandoned for 37 years; it's probably sitting on blocks, wheels gone, doors gone, 8 track player gone, hood gone. All off to the Lunar Chop Shop. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GreyGhost Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 Interesting story, thanks Murph ... Makes me wonder how all the Moon Conspiracy folks react to these things ... Gregg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Matt Roberts Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 (edited) Interesting story, thanks Murph ... Makes me wonder how all the Moon Conspiracy folks react to these things ... Gregg Won't change a thing - after all it is the Americans that were not supposed to be there, nothing at all about the Soviets not being there! Besides have they ever found the Nazi moon shot with the dead SS astronaut? I rememebr reading about it a while ago....in Playboy I think....errr.....nevermind Edited March 22, 2010 by Matt Roberts Quote Link to post Share on other sites
richter111 Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 Wait a minute!!! Playboy has articles??? I only read it for the comics.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wayne S Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 LinkageHmmm... Abandoned for 37 years; it's probably sitting on blocks, wheels gone, doors gone, 8 track player gone, hood gone. All off to the Lunar Chop Shop. A few lunar hornet nest here and there also. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RedHeadKevin Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 Okay, I can see that a lunar rover is a pretty cool thing to own, but this guy has 69 grand he can "spend" on An abandoned piece of space junk? Something that is a derelict, a quarter million miles away, that he'll never see ( except to say "that's my dot right there") and that couldn't even be considered an investment? Boy am I in the wrong business. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aigore Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 Won't change a thing - after all it is the Americans that were not supposed to be there, nothing at all about the Soviets not being there!Besides have they ever found the Nazi moon shot with the dead SS astronaut? I rememebr reading about it a while ago....in Playboy I think....errr.....nevermind OMG! You read it for the articles?!?!?!? I only watch the pics....doesn´t tax my two braincells as much Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TaiidanTomcat Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 Thats just neat! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ross blackford Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 , I wonder who put the Lunokhod 2 up for auction in the first place. Would be interested to know the answer to that question. , Ross. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChernayaAkula Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 Hmmm... Abandoned for 37 years; it's probably sitting on blocks, wheels gone, doors gone, 8 track player gone, hood gone. <...> What? A joint Scouse-Polish moon mission? I'm just kiddin'. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Murph Posted March 22, 2010 Author Share Posted March 22, 2010 What? A joint Scouse-Polish moon mission? If it's sitting on blocks, it can probably be considered a redneck moon mission now. Regards, Murph Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GreyGhost Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 If it's sitting on blocks, it can probably be considered a redneck moon mission now.Regards, Murph Ever been to Southern California, Murph ? Gregg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FTWalker Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Wake me when they find Cavor's British flag... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steve N Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 have they ever found the Nazi moon shot with the dead SS astronaut? Sounds like Hienlien's "Rocket Ship Gallileo." I remember reading that one when I was a kid. Thought I'd found a plot hole when the story included firing rifles on the lunar surface..until my gunsmith uncle explained to me that gunpowder contains its own oxidizer. Back to the rover..would the miles to the moon register on the odometer, or just those travelled on the lunar surface? That could drastically affect the Blue Book value. SN Quote Link to post Share on other sites
blunce Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 :),I wonder who put the Lunokhod 2 up for auction in the first place. Would be interested to know the answer to that question. , Ross. I dunno, but I bet they laughed all the way to the bank! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moai Vincent Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Ever been to Southern California, Murph ? Gregg IT NEVER RAINS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. MOAI VINCENT HAS SPOKEN. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Rat Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Interesting story, thanks Murph ... Makes me wonder how all the Moon Conspiracy folks react to these things ... Gregg It means nothing to them because they cannot get beyond their own deep rooted belief that it never happened. They would say that the photos have been faked. If you took them to the Moon and showed them the artifacts they would say that you had set them up before taking them there. It is impossible to reason with them, all we can ever hope to do is prevent them from poisoning other impressionable minds. Oh, and we can use them as objects of scorn and ridicule in order to take out our frustrations. Better than kicking puppies and infinitely more satisfying! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Murph Posted March 24, 2010 Author Share Posted March 24, 2010 Ever been to Southern California, Murph ? Gregg L.A. Is that the same country? Regards, Murph Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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