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Astrobiology

NASA GSFC Dinosaur Track Location: "sensitive but unclassified"

By Keith Cowing
NASA Watch
August 20, 2012
Filed under , , , ,

Likely footprint of spiky dinosaur has NASA’s Md. campus on cloud nine, Washington Post
“A scalloped mini-crater with four pointy toe prints pressed into ruddy rock, the putative dinosaur track juts out from a scruffy slope at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center…”
NASA’s Nodosaur Track, Smithsonian
“Officials at the NASA campus are already moving to protect the fossil, and they plan to bring in paleontologists to look for other dinosaur tracks. The NASA scientists want to keep the site a secret, Vastag reports, but ultimately want the public to be able to see the track.”
Keith’s note: Too bad NASA couldn’t take this opportunity – one so close to its facilities – to treat this excavation as if it were a scientific endeavour using robotics i.e. practice for work on Mars or elsewhere. Besides, what things do kids like the most? Dinosaurs and outer space. This is a twofer.
Keeping the location “secret” is a wise precaution to take when there is no security to protect sites like this from looters. But this site is located inside a NASA field center with what one would hope is a secure perimeter. Does NASA think people might break in to GSFC and chip the footprints out of the ground? Or do they not trust Goddard employees? Given the immense value of other things lying around at GSFC, one would think that the agency would trust its employees enough to honor a “do not disturb” sign just like they do every other notice they encounter. Photos anyone? We’ll post them anonymously.
Keith’s update: NASA GSFC Has posted an Update on this story. They still will not reveal the exact location inside this secure Federal facility. i.e. “Goddard Facilities Manager Alan Binstock said the agency considers the footprint and its location “sensitive but unclassified.”

NASA Watch founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.

9 responses to “NASA GSFC Dinosaur Track Location: "sensitive but unclassified"”

  1. Dave says:
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    I thought most of the dinosaurs at Goddard were in building 8.

  2. no one of consequence says:
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    I agree. Surprised that PAO didn’t jump on it.

    Its easy, cheap, fantastic yield, and the timing is perfect.

    Plus, it captures kids and the general public … at a time the school year is gearing up.

    Kudos Keith.

    • kcowing says:
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      Its just plain cool and yet NASA is throwing its own roadblocks in the path of letting people make that connection.

  3. Susan Keddie says:
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    Keith,  wrt your comments about not revealing the location and does that mean GSFC does not trust the employees.  I would like to point out that I don’t believe the man who made the discovery is an employee.  Which suggests that it is in a place that is accessible to unsupervised guests….  

    • kcowing says:
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      You “don’t believe” or “you know”?  People who do not work at GSFC are allowed onsite for other reasons by security. If the person gained access through other means or are not escorted when they should be then GSFC has a bigger problem i.e. its security.

      • Susan Keddie says:
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        I read the Washington Post magazine article on the man when it came out. I don’t remember seeing anything in that article that connected him to Goddard.  Thus I “don’t believe”.  I am not suggesting that there is anything wrong with security at Goddard, I have no knowledge.  I was merely trying to point out that if this is in a place that the public has access to (near the visitor center perhaps), GSFC might be wise to keep the exact location a secret until they can secure it. 

      • Susan Keddie says:
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        I see that his wife works at Goddard. I don’t know what that means in terms of the kind of access he might have versus the access a member of the public might have. 

  4. m m says:
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    GSFC (and NASA in general) most certainly does not trust its own employees.  As well it shouldn’t — fraud is a problem in any large organization.  This is why NASA has an IG.  While NASA has plenty of items that are far more sensitive than this, they are also typically controlled by a lot more than center access.  For example, mission areas at GSFC have two-factor controls to limit access to only a small percentage of the GSFC population, and to provide accountability as to who entered when.  If something goes missing, you can bet those logs will be reviewed so security will know who to ask.Fossilized remains on the GSFC grounds cannot be controlled by two-factor access.  All ~100,000 people badged for NASA have access to the GSFC grounds.