NASA OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL OFFICE OF INVESTIGATIONS SUITE 8224, 300 EST SW WASHINGTON, D.C. 20546-0001 4 Mr. Jason Koebler Oct 1§ zo ‘MuckRock DEPT MR 21285 PO Box 55819 Boston, MA 02205-5819 Email: 21287-97597674@requests.muckrock.com SUBJECT: — Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)/Privacy Act (PA) Request Dear Mr. Koebler: Ina FOIA/PA request we received on September 16, 2015, you requested certain NASA, Office of Inspector General (O1G) investigative documents. Specifically, your request stated: Tam requesting any and all correspondence sent within the office of the inspector general regarding this investigation, as well as any correspondence sent between the office of the inspector general and the subjects of the investigation. I am also looking for the original email referenced in the investigatory report. Lam also requesting any documents or correspondence between NASA and the original designer of the rover, as referenced in the investigatory report. Finally, Iam requesting any documents prepared by Pamela Bourque regarding this investigation. Documents fitting the description of your request are attached. Certain names and other identifying information have been redacted from the document pursuant to FOIA exemption (6)(6), which protects from disclosure information which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, and FOIA exemption (b)(7)(C), which relates to records compiled for law enforcement purposes which could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. For your information, Congress excluded three discrete categories of law enforcement and national security records from the requirements of the FOIA. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(c) (2006 & Supp. IV(2010). This response is limited to those records that are subject to the requirements of the FOIA. This is a standard notification that is given to all our requesters and should not be taken as an indication that excluded records do, or do not, exist. You have the right to appeal this initial determination to the Inspector General. Under 14 CFR §1206.605(b), the appeal must (1) be in writing; (2) be addressed to the Deputy Inspector General, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546; (3) be identified clearly on the envelope and in the letter as an “Appeal under the Freedom of Information Act”; (4) include a copy of the request for the Agency record and a copy of the adverse initial determination; (5) to the extent possible, state the reasons why the requester believes the adverse initial determination should be reversed; and (6) be sent to the Inspector General within 30 calendar days of the date of receipt of the initial determination. Sincerely, Ne las fes R. Ives Assistant Inspector General for Investigations OIG FOIA Officer ~ Investigations EnclosuresNational Aeronautics and ‘Space Administration Office of Inspector General Office of Investigati O-MA-14-0207-S April 17,2014 RECOVERY OF PROTOTYPE LUNAR ROVER ‘Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812 CASE INITIATION: On February 20, 2014, RTS Attorney Advisor, Office of Chief Counsel, Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), contacted this office regarding an email from US Air Force Historian EU ESMEEM concerning a lunar rover prototype located in the backyard of a residence in Blountsville, AL. provided pictures of the lunar rover at the residence and a historical picture of the rover with TUITE) driving it on a test track at MSEC (Attachments I —3). ‘The Reporting Agent contacted STS) formerly of Brown Engineering. had been identified as an engineer that worked on the lunar rover project during the 1960's. After providing the current pictures of the rover tqUS{RENI@NI he stated he was positive it was the Mobile Test Article (MTA), later called the Lunar Roving Vehicle, which he designed and delivered to NASA. (ISISHODIEDE stated there was an additional MTA that was developed for (UG to run tests on, but it was not of the same construction as the one in question. We asked SISRESINDMM '© provide this office with a letter stating NASA was asserting ownership of the lunar rover to facilitate the recovery of this item. As of this date, ESTSIESIEAM has yet to produce the letter, but she has given verbal confirmation that such a letter is forthcoming. Based on the above information, this office has initiated an administrative case to document the recovery efforts. Attachments: 1, Current picture of rover at residence (1) 2. Current picture of rover at residence (2) 3. Historical picture of rover at MSEC Prepared by (TCSII) DISTR: File APPR IESG ‘CLASSIFICATION: T WARNING FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY _ T™*40oument isthe property ofthe NASA Office of Inspect Geazral and ison | loan to your agency. Contents may nt be diseloged to any party unde investigation | nor may this document be distributed outside the receiving agency without the | specific prior authorization ofthe Assistant Inspector General for Investigations.Notional Aeronautics and ‘Space Administration Office of Inspector General Office of Investigations O-MA-14-0207-S July 30, 2014 RECOVERY OF PROTOTYPE LUNAR ROVER COORDINATION WITH MSFC GENERAL COUNSEL: On July 24, 2014, MEERA sistant Chief Counsel for General Law, MSFC, provided the Reporting Agent (RA) ‘with a draft letter asserting NASA ownership of the Prototype Lunar Rover for revizw. ‘The RA ‘concurred with the letter’s contents, and[ESRSNSM stated it would be signed by MSFC ‘management for delivery to the party currently in possession of the Rover. [BIGHGD #!s0 requested a member of the MSFC Historian's office be present when the letter is presented to the above party. Attachment: Draft Letter Prepared by ST DISTR: File z APPRIESG CLASSIFICATION: WARNING : ‘This docamen isthe proper ofthe NASA Office of lspctor Gensrl andi on FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ious io your agency. Contents may oot be dscose 0 wy party under investigation | sormay his docutent be dstbued outside he esiving agency witout the spect ro autorieaton ofthe Assistant Inspector Gena a Investigations.Dear XXxx, It has come to the attention of the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Historian that you may be in the possession of a proto-type of a Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). We believe that the vehicle currently in your possession is the Local Scientific Survey Module (SSM), a mobility test article developed by Brown Engineering over the course of 1965 and 1966 that was used for human factors studies and mobility evaluations, The LSSM prototype represented an important step in the design and engineering of the final rovers utilized during the Apollo program. MSFC played a crucial role in designing the LRVs, and we are very interested in preserving the history of their development. Returning this vehicle to Marshall Space Flight Center would allow MSFC to restore the vehicle so that it might be used for historical and educational Purposes. Our hope is that the vehicle could be put on display to help preserve the rich history of the Apollo program and to educate the general public about our nation’s space history. MSFC would be extremely grateful for your cooperation in helping us attain these goals. If you have questions about the artifact, please contact [EHRENIEDMI in the Marshall Space Flight Center History Office TT - TT Cordially,National Aeronautics and ‘Space Administration Office of Inspector General Office of Investigations O-MA-14-0207-S August 20, 2014 RECOVERY OF PROTOTYPE LUNAR ROVER COORDINATION WITH MSFC GENERAL COUNSEL: On August 20, 2014, ssistant Chief Counsel for General Law, MSFC, provided the Reporting Agent with a signed letter from the MSFC(S J. requesting the return of the NASA prototype lunar rover. [BEIGE #150 stated MSFC Historian SIUEAME was available to aide in the return. Attachment: Signed Letter Prepared by {ia DISTR: File APPR CLASSIFICATION: WARNING FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | ™‘cuneatis the propery ofthe NASA Ofie of Inspector Gena andi on | loan o your agency. Contents may not be dislosed to any party under investigation nor may this document be distibuted outside te receiving agency without the specific prior authorization ofthe Assistant Inspector General for InvestigationsReni toa ct National Aeronautics and Space Administration George C. Marshall Space Flight Center ‘Marshall Space Flight Genter, AL 35812 August 20, 2014 Office of Strategic Analysis and Communications SUBJECT: Lunar Rover Prototype ‘To whom it may concern: It has come to the attention of the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Historian that you may be in the possession of a proto-type of a Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), We believe that the vehicle currently in your possession is the Local Scientific Survey ‘Module (LSM), a mobility test article developed by Brown Engineering over the course of 1965 and 1966 that was used for human factors studies and mobility evaluations. The LSSM prototype represented an important step in the design and engineering of the final rovers utilized during the Apollo program, MSFC played a crucial role in designing the LRVs, and we are very interested in preserving the history of their development. Returning this vebicle to Marshall Space Flight Center would allow MSFC to restore the vehicle so that it might be used for ‘historical and educational purposes. Our hope is that the vehicle could be put on display to help preserve the rich history of the Apollo program and to edueate the general public about our nation’s space history. MSFC would be extremely grateful for your cooperation in helping us attain these goals. If you have questions about the artifact, please contact in the Marshall Space Flight Center History Office at Cordially,National Aeronautics and ‘Space Administration Office of Inspector General Office of Investigations O-MA-14-0207-8 October 29, 2014 RECOVERY OF PROTOTYPE LUNAR ROVER CONTACT WITH! in October 24, 2014, the Reporting Agent (RA) was contacted, via phone, by SACRE Blountsville, AL concerning the Prototype Lunar Rover. stated] hed spoken With TT TTA, Bioun'svitle, AL, ‘who stated the “moon buggy” had been sold to someone and not scrapped, as{[M earlier believed. (STOIC stated RONG would not tell_Gg to whom [ sold it. IE MERE ov iced the RA with RSME phone number TAT Prepared by SSNS DISTR: File APPR CLASSIFICATION: T WARNING | This document is the property ofthe NASA Office of Inspector General and is on Joan to your agency. Comets may not be disclosed to any party under investigation | nor may this docurnent be distributed outside the reeiving ageney without the | specie pror authorization of the Assistant Inspector General for Investigations FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLYNational Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Inspector General Office of Investigations O-MA-14-0207-S October 20, 2014 RECOVERY OF PROTOTYPE LUNAR ROVER CONTACT WITH! |: On August 28, 2014, the Reporting Agent was able to contact, via phone, (SYS EAG) | Blountsville, AL concerning the Prototype Lunar Rover that may be inf{§J possession or that of {Jj amily. stated JJ had been in possession of the Rover; however. {J brother had taken itto the scrapyard months earlier. (STAGE stated fgMJ would check with(§Gy brother to see if he still had it and then J would contact me to let me know. Prepared by {SRS DISTR: File APPR ISG ‘GASSTRTCATION WARNING | This document is the property of the NASA Office of Inspector General and is on. FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | joss to your agency. Contents may not be disclosed to any party under iavestgation | nor may this document be distributed ouside the receiving agency without the | spect prior authorization ofthe Assistant Inspector Genera for InvestigationsNational Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Inspector General Office of Investigations O-MA-14-0207-S December 11, 2014 RECOVERY OF PROTOTYPE LUNAR ROVER CASE CLOSING: This investigation was predicated upon the NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) receiving a report from the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSEC) General Counsel's office that the MSFC Historian’s office had been contacted regarding a potential lunar rover located in a private residence backyard in Blountsville, AL. We spoke with (S]EUNHM: # historian for the US Air Force, who originally brought the Yehicle’s existence to the attention of MSFC historian SISTINE. (HIE stated he was visiting his mother when he noticed the rover in the backyard of a neighbor across the street, (IGE (00k pictures and contacted Eg via email We then spoke with {DOSEN who originally designed the rover in question in the 1960's when he worked for Brown Engineering Company. (EIBY) reviewed the photographs of the rover taken by (RGM and positively identified ti. vehicle as a Mobile Test Article, later called the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). stated the one identified in the pictures had been turned over to NASA. Assistant Chief Counsel for General Law, MSFC, provided this office with the results of a search for potential missing property, of that type, from the period in question. ‘The facilities division stated, “No "Rover" or Local Scientific Survey Module (LSSM) was surveyed as missing/stolen/lost based on available records. Prototypes are built in-house and are not always tagged.” Upon contacting the current owner, EXUMASMEEM, Blounisville, AL, we leaned the LRV hhad been sold for scrap after (XU) MMIII had passed away, Since the LRV is no longer available for recovery, this matter is closed in the files of this office, ‘No further action will occur. Prepared by: 0) 3 aa DISTR: File APPRAISE (CLASSIFICATION: T WARNING « | This document isthe property ofthe NASA Office of Inspector General and ison FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | joan to your agency. Contents may not be disclosed to any party undorinvestigtion | nor may this document be distributed ouside the receiving agency without the | specitie prior authorization ofthe Assistant Inspector General for Investigations.