Thelunar sample displays are twocommemorative plaques consisting of small fragments of Moon specimen brought back by the astronauts of theApollo 11 andApollo 17 lunar missions. The plaques andMoon rocks were given as goodwill gifts in 1970 and 1973 to the people of 135 countries, the 50 states of the United States and some of its overseas territories, by United States PresidentRichard Nixon.[1][2]
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 presidentRichard Nixon gave presentation samples of Moon rock gathered by NASA astronautsBuzz Aldrin andNeil Armstrong, which had been flown from the Moon in the Apollo 11lunar moduleEagle and brought to Earth in the Apollo 11command moduleColumbia, as gifts to 135 countries and 50 US states.[1]
The Apollo 17 lunar sample display consists of a Moon rock fragment from a lava Moon stone identified aslunar 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 astronautsEugene Cernan andHarrison Schmitt "picked up a very significant rock, typical of what we have here in the valley of Taurus-Littrow... composed of many fragments, of many sizes, and many shapes, probably from all parts of the Moon, perhaps billions of years old" and made a special dedication to the young people of Earth. This rock was later labeled sample 70017.[3] Nixon ordered the distribution of fragments of the rock to 135 foreign heads of state and the 50 U.S. states. These gifts were distributed in 1973.[2]
Inside theUnited States, displays were given to all50 states and four territories:American Samoa,Guam,Northern Mariana Islands andPuerto Rico.
Outside the United States, the following countries received displays:
Afghanistan,Albania,Algeria,Andorra,Argentina,Australia,Austria,Barbados,Belgium,Bhutan,Bolivia,Botswana,Brazil,Bulgaria,Burma,Burundi,Cameroon,Canada,Cambodia,Central African Republic,Ceylon (current Sri Lanka),Chad,Chile,China,Colombia,Congo (Brazzaville),Congo (Kinshasa),Costa Rica,Cuba,Cyprus,Czechoslovakia,Dahomey,Denmark,Dominican Republic,Ecuador,Egypt,El Salvador,Equatorial Guinea,Eswatini,Ethiopia,Finland,France,Gabon,Gambia,Ghana,Greece,Guatemala,Guinea,Guyana,Haiti,Honduras,Hungary,Iceland,India,Indonesia,Ivory Coast,Iran,Iraq,Ireland,Israel,Italy,Jamaica,Japan,Jordan,Kenya,Kuwait,Laos,Lebanon,Lesotho,Liberia,Libya,Liechtenstein,Luxembourg,Madagascar,Malawi,Malaysia,Maldives,Mali,Malta,Mauritania,Mauritius,Mexico,Monaco,Mongolia,Morocco,Muscat and Oman,Nauru,Nepal,Netherlands,New Zealand,Nicaragua,Niger,Nigeria,Norway,Pakistan,Panama,Paraguay,Peru,Philippines,Poland,Portugal,Romania,Rwanda,San Marino,Saudi Arabia,Senegal,Sierra Leone,Singapore,Somalia,South Africa,South Korea,Southern Yemen,Soviet Union,Spain,Sudan,Sweden,Switzerland,Syria,Taiwan,Tanzania,Thailand,Togo,Trinidad and Tobago,Tunisia,Turkey,Uganda,United Kingdom,Upper Volta (current Burkina Faso),Uruguay,Vatican City,Venezuela,South Vietnam,West Germany,Western Samoa,Yemen,Yugoslavia andZambia.[1][2]
Also, displays were given to theUnited Nations.
Bahamas,Bahrain,Bangladesh,Fiji,Solomon Islands (in that time a British overseas possession),Mozambique (in that time an overseas province of Portugal),Qatar,Tonga andUnited Arab Emirates didn't receive display of Apollo 11, but they received display of Apollo 17.[2]
Of the 270 Moon rocks given to countries by the Nixon administration, approximately 159 are missing. Many that are not have been locked away in storage for decades. Their locations have been sought or tracked by researchers and hobbyists because of their rarity and the difficulty of obtaining more. They have also been stolen and forged.[citation needed]
