Hi, Raoul.
I don't know if Belgian newspapers have carried this story,
but I read that a Swiss watchmaker, Romaine Jerome,
has been involved in designing, if not making special/expensive
luxury watches jewelled with tiny specks of Lunar dust.
[Where he got, or will get 'legal' Lunar dust samples, I do not know]
But Romaine Jerome is intent on making 1969 of these
specialty luxury watches that will sell for between 15,000 dollars [or euros?] to 500,000 dollars apiece.
If he makes and sells all those watches at minimum price
that will be close to 300 million dollars worth of Lunar-dust be
jewelled merchandise purchased.
[That's about as much money as spent on America's last Lunar-orbiting
spacecraft, Lunar Prospector.]
If he were to succeed and sell all those watches at maximum
price, he would receive nearly 10-billion dollars.
Just think! For a few micrograms of Lunar dust
imbedded into customized luxury Swiss watches
Romaine Jerome could receive enough money [10-billion]
to privately fund a modest manned Lunar landing program.
All it would take would be two humans in a 15 ton Lunar orbiter
with a smaller open cockpit one-man Lunar lander attached, both launched by one or two upgraded Falcon 9 rocket boosters,
that will allow the astronaut on the Lunar surface to scoop
up not micrograms but kilograms of Lunar material to return
to Earth with for the benefit of the commercial investors.
Space/Science » in reply to The Moon-Mars debate
Swiiss watchmaker, Romaine Jerome, may have a commercial justification for Lunar missions.
