Dutch Moon Rock is a Fake: Is NASA Gift a fraud?

The lump of 'moon rock' had been on proud display for decades

A treasured piece of Moon Rock at the Dutch Rijkmuseum (the national museum) is nothing more than petrified wood, curators say.

It was originally a gift directly from NASA to the Dutch people. NASA claimed that it was gathered during the first manned lunar landing. Clearly, this claim is now in doubt.

The 'moon rock' was gifted to former Prime Minister Willem Drees during a goodwill tour by the three Apollo-11 astronauts shortly after their moon mission in 1969.

Mr Drees cherished it until he died. The 'moon rock' was then put on display at the Amsterdam Rijkmuseum. Again, a mistake may have taken place at this point and the wrong rock selected for display.

At one point the 'moon rock' was insured for around $500,000 (£308,000), but tests have now proved that the 'rock' on display is not the genuine article.

"Hey, You can trust me, I'm an astronaut!"

The Rijksmuseum, which is perhaps better known for paintings by artists such as Rembrandt, says it will keep the piece as a curiosity.

"It's a good story, with some questions that are still unanswered," Xandra van Gelder, who oversaw the investigation that proved the piece was a fake, was quoted as saying. "We can laugh about it." The "moon rock" had originally been vetted and verified through a phone call to Nasa, she added.

NASA gave honorary 'moon rocks' to more than 100 countries following lunar missions in the 1970s, allegedly. NASA officials said they had no explanation for the Dutch discovery but you can be sure that there is now a race on, by other 'rock' owners, to authenticate their 'treasured' rocks.

Is it only the Dutch that would be so 'amused' at misplacing a $500,000 civic artifacts? It is not like them to be so easily fooled when it comes to economic matters. Perhaps there is a more interesting story here, that is not being told, allegedly.