Good news - I did not post about it when it first became public but someone had one of the prototype NASA Moon Buggies and sold it to a scrap metal dealer. Fortunately, the metal dealer knew what he had and saved it.
From Motherboard:
Heroic Junkyard Owner Says He Saved Priceless Moon Rover From Scrap Heap
Tuesday, we told the sad story of a prototype NASA lunar rover that was sold by an Alabaman to a scrap yard. That is true, but there's a twist: A heroic scrap dealer has saved the buggy, which appears to be in good condition.
The scrap dealer spoke to Motherboard on the condition of anonymity because he says he wants to speak to his lawyer about his next steps, but he did send me the recent photo of the buggy above to confirm it's in his possession. The rover matches a historical NASA image we believed to be the rover in question. It also matches the description given by NASA in its investigatory documents.
"The man who originally bought it, from my understanding, he bought it at an auction. He was a road conditioner [in Alabama]," the junkyard owner told me. "I can't confirm this is true, but he bought it at a NASA auction many years ago. NASA just discarded a lot of that stuff back then. When it was brought to my scrap facility, I set it aside because I knew what it was. The unit does exist today. It is not scrapped. I have that unit in storage."
"I've done quite a lot of research on the unit and it's an artifact that needs to be saved," he added.
And there is more at the link - NASA is trying to 'borrow' it - the metal dealer wants cash.
I vote for the metal dealer - sell to the highest bidder!
After all, NASA auctioned it off to someone who was looking for scrap value.
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