The astronauts who took part in the Apollo Moon missions may soon each get a
unique keepsake: a piece of Moon rock. The House of Representatives last week
passed a bill requiring NASA to give the astronauts pieces of rock. It is now up
to the Senate to take it up. While pieces have been presented to dignitaries
over the years, NASA has been reluctant to give astronauts any of its 323
kilograms of Moon rock. “If foreign leaders can have them and President Clinton
can have one on his desk, as a matter of simple fairness the astronauts should
have them too,” says Chris Donesa, chief of staff for Representative Mark
Souder, the bill’s author.
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