Lunar sample displays
The Lunar sample displays are two
Description
Apollo 11
The Apollo 11 lunar sample display is a commemorative podium style plaque display consisting of four rice-size dust particle specimens (dubbed "Moon rocks"), the recipient's flag and two small metal plates attached with descriptive messages.
In 1970, US president Richard Nixon gave presentation samples of Moon rock gathered by NASA astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong, which had been flown from the Moon in the Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle and brought to Earth in the Apollo 11 command module Columbia, as gifts to 135 countries and 50 US states. [1]
Apollo 17
The Apollo 17 lunar sample display consists of a Moon rock fragment from a lava Moon stone identified as lunar basalt 70017, the recipient's flag and two small metal plates attached with descriptive messages, all inside a wooden commemorative plaque.
Near the end of their third and final moonwalk, and what would be the last moonwalk of the Apollo program, Apollo 17 astronauts
Recipients of Lunar sample displays
Inside the
.Outside the United States, the following countries received displays:
Also, displays were given to the United Nations.
Current fate
Of the 270 Apollo 11 Moon Rocks and Apollo 17 Goodwill Moon Rocks that were given to countries by the Nixon Administration, approximately 180 are currently unaccounted for. Many of the Moon rocks that are accounted for have been locked away in storage for decades. The location of the rocks has been tracked by researchers and hobbyists because of their rarity and the difficulty of obtaining more. Moon rocks have also been subjects of theft and forgery.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Pearlman, Robert (1999–2012). "Where today are the Apollo 11 goodwill lunar sample displays?". collectspace.com. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
- ^ a b c d Pearlman, Robert (1999–2012). "Where today are the Apollo 17 goodwill lunar sample displays". collectspace.com. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
- ^ Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science. "70017 Ilmenite Basalt" (PDF). NASA.