Robert Smathers (roberts@nmia.com) wrote: >I wouldn't be >bothered by my dollars going towards a mission to grab some things >and pieces for museums like the Smithsonian, I'd like to see this too, especially as it wouldn't be my tax dollars at work ;) But hey, if they could somehow cram 5 tons worth of Mir into the cargo bay, then chop it up and sell it on the ground ($1000 for a framed 1oz chunk) they could pay for half the mission! (of course, there'd likely be royalties to pay to the Russians, etc...) It's crass, but not unprecedented (I have a piece of the Berlin Wall on my bookcase). Personally, I'd rather see it kept up there as a permanent floating monument to human exploration of space. -t Tyler MacKenzie MTX Sackville, N.B., Canada 45.885 -64.368 +15m Z-0400