TheApollo 11 goodwill messages are statements from leaders of 73 countries around the world on a disc about the size of a50-cent piece made ofsilicon that was left on theMoon in 1969 by theApollo 11 astronauts.
The disc also carried names of the leadership of theCongress, the four committees of the House and Senate responsible for legislation related to theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and NASA's top management, including past administrators and deputy administrators.
At the top of the disc is the inscription: "Goodwill messages from around the world brought to the Moon by the astronauts of Apollo 11." Around the rim is the statement: "From Planet Earth – July 1969". The collected letters were given to the GCA Corp in Burlington MA which used a reduction camera to make a negative photomask containing all the letters plus an inscription around its edge at its final size. This mask was given toSprague Electric Company ofNorth Adams, Massachusetts which imaged it onto a silicon wafer and etched the pattern into the wafer. NASA headThomas O. Paine proposed the idea to the U.S. State Department, and corresponded with world leaders to solicit their messages. These were enshrined by being photographed and reduced to 1/200 scaleultra microfiche silicon etching. The disc rests in an aluminum case on the Moon'sSea of Tranquility.[1]
The disc was in a package inBuzz Aldrin's suit shoulder pocket along with some other memorial items. He was reminded about the package byNeil Armstrong while ascending the ladder of theLunar ModuleEagle to finish theirEVA. He then dropped it to the surface.[2] Later Houston requested and received confirmation they had placed it.[3]
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