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NASA is a privileged place.
She sends astronauts into space with remarkable precision.
It reinforces our knowledge of the universe through amazing images and scientific exploration.
The top polls monitoring the commitment and morale of federal employees.
So, why can not the agency that documents stars and planets better follow its earthly goods?
A new report from the Office of the Inspector General of the Agency. Despite decades of improvements, "a significant amount of historic moveable property has been lost, misplaced or washed away by former employees and contractors due to the lack of proper procedures on the part of the Agency" .
Let's take a look at the account of these items that were taken away:
– In 2014, a prototype lunar rover vehicle was discovered in a residential area of Blountsville, Alabama. The owner was ready to send him back to NASA, but "after waiting more than four months to get a decision from NASA, the individual sold the rover to a scrap yard." NASA officials then proposed to buy it, but its owner refused and, realizing the historic value of the rover, sold the vehicle at auction for an undisclosed amount. "NASA and the Inspector General had no information on how the rover had escaped.
– "Poor record keeping contributed to NASA's loss of possession of an Apollo 11 lunar collection bag containing lunar dust particles." Authorities recovered the bag in 2013 and the US Marshals Service sold it to a private citizen in 2015 for $ 995. After one government arm sold the lunar bag, another arm, NASA, sued to recover it but lost it. The bag was auctioned at a price of $ 1.8 million in July 2017.
– The Inspector General's office learned that an "Omega Speedmaster Professional Watch – a model chosen by NASA to be used in space during Space Shuttle missions – was auctioned in London in December 2014. Due to the mediocre NASA records, it was unclear whether this watch had was piloted during a space shuttle mission, however, it was in possession of German astronaut Reinhard Furrer at the time of his death. "The government paid $ 2,300 for the watch and sent it at the Smithsonian for exhibition.
– A NASA supervisor asked an employee to throw three Apollo 11 controllers, such as video game controllers, in 1985. The employee took the controllers. years later, sold them to a collector of space memorabilia. NASA, belatedly, has been trying to recover the controllers so that they can be exposed to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. "After 3 years, NASA has stopped its research."
– You can be the first in your group to have a memorable memory. Heritage Auctions sells what she describes as "the flight suit belongs to Neil Armstrong directly belonging to the Armstrong family collection". As of Tuesday afternoon, the application for the pale blue cotton jumpsuit with a "meat patch" meatball "embroidered NASA on the left bad" was $ 11,000.
"NASA's failure to retain or report appropriately" for its business, according to the report, could result in the loss of "objects" of great historical value to NASA and the US. country". NASA, however, has at times been "reluctant to claim ownership of these objects"
This reluctance is exacerbated by the attitude "this is not my job".
When Inspector General Investigators interview employees in two NASA offices. which deal with historical elements, "none of the employees from those offices and others we met during this audit stated that it was their responsibility to identify or identify manage the heritage badets of NASA. "
In another case, staff at the Kennedy Space Center stated that they depended on the contractor who manages a concession on the visitors' site to decide which items are heritage properties. The report of the Inspector General politely indicated that it was not a good idea to call on a contractor.
NASA sometimes lends articles to other organizations, but without a signed agreement or security plan. A NASA form indicates loan conditions, but borrowers are not required to sign the form, indicating their agreement. This can be confusing.
In 2013, Kennedy had loaned to the University of Texas at El Paso articles related to the explosion of the Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003, which had killed seven astronauts. One form indicated that the loan was due to end in 2015, but university staff informed the inspectors that the contract was for an indefinite period. NASA "extended the loan term based on verbal conversations with University staff," the report says. NASA also did not ask the university to proceed with the annual inventory of artifacts.
NASA has accepted most of the recommendations of the Inspector General, including the establishment of a more efficient process of identification and management of historical property. NASA would not comment further on the content of the report submitted to the Federal Insider, ignoring a question about why the proceedings were so lax in the beginning.
If the persistent blur of NASA continues, the Inspector General had a warning about it: improves its processes, the Agency's approach to recover important elements of its past will continue to random, inefficient and ultimately unsuccessful. "
(With the exception of the title, this story was not published by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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