Lunar sample displays

Short description: Commemorative plaques containing small fragments of the Moon

Examples of 'Moon rocks' display. To the left, part of Massachusetts lunar sample display of Apollo 11. To the right, United Kingdom lunar sample display of Apollo 17

The Lunar sample displays are two commemorative plaques consisting of small fragments of Moon specimen brought back by the astronauts of the Apollo 11 and Apollo 17 lunar missions. The plaques and Moon rocks were given as goodwill gifts in 1970 and 1973 to the people of 135 countries, the 50 states of the United States, and to U.S. overseas territories by United States President Richard Nixon.[1][2]

## Contents

* 1 Description
* 1.1 Apollo 11
* 1.2 Apollo 17
* 2 Recipients of Lunar sample displays
* 3 Current fate
* 4 See also
* 5 References

## Description

### Apollo 11

Norway Apollo 11 'Moon rocks' display

Main article: Astronomy:Apollo 11 lunar sample display

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

Honduras plaque of Apollo 17

Main article: Astronomy:Apollo 17 lunar sample display

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 Eugene Cernan and Harrison 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]

## Recipients of Lunar sample displays

Inside the United States , displays were given to all 50 states and four territories: American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto 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 and Zambia. [1][2]

Also, displays were given to the United 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 and United Arab Emirates didn't receive display of Apollo 11, but they received display of Apollo 17. [2]

## Current fate

Main article: Astronomy:Stolen and missing Moon rocks

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

* List of Apollo lunar sample displays

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Pearlman, Robert (1999–2012). "Where today are the Apollo 11 goodwill lunar sample displays?". collectspace.com. http://www.collectspace.com/resources/moonrocks_apollo11.html.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Pearlman, Robert (1999–2012). "Where today are the Apollo 17 goodwill lunar sample displays". collectspace.com. http://www.collectspace.com/resources/moonrocks_goodwill.html.
3. ↑ Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science. "70017 Ilmenite Basalt". NASA. http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/lsc/70017.pdf.

* v
* t
* e

The Moon

Physical
properties|

* Internal structure
* Topography
* Atmosphere
* Gravity field
* Hill sphere
* Magnetic field
* Sodium tail
* Moonlight
* Earthshine

Orbit|

* Lunar distance
* Orbital elements
* Distance
* Perigee and apogee
* Libration
* Nodes
* Nodal period
* Precession
* Syzygy
* New moon
* Full moon
* Eclipses
* Lunar eclipse
* Total penumbral lunar eclipse
* Tetrad
* Solar eclipse
* Solar eclipses on the Moon
* Eclipse cycle
* Supermoon
* Tide
* Tidal force
* Tidal locking
* Tidal acceleration
* Tidal range
* Lunar station

Surface and
features|

* Selenography
* Terminator
* Hemispheres
* Near side
* Far side
* Poles
* North pole
* South pole
* Face
* Maria
* List
* Mountains
* Peak of eternal light
* Valleys
* Volcanic features
* Domes
* Calderas
* Lava tubes
* Craters
* List
* Ray systems
* Crater of eternal darkness
* South Pole–Aitken basin
* Soil
* Swirls
* Rilles
* Wrinkle ridges
* Rocks
* Lunar basalt 70017
* Water
* Space weathering
* Micrometeorite
* Sputtering
* Quakes
* Transient lunar phenomenon

Science|

* Observation
* Libration
* Lunar theory
* Origin
* Giant-impact hypothesis
* Theia
* Lunar magma ocean
* Geology
* Timescale
* Late Heavy Bombardment
* Lunar meteorites
* KREEP
* Experiments
* Lunar laser ranging
* ALSEP
* Lunar sample displays
* Apollo 11
* Apollo 17
* Lunar seismology

Exploration|

* Missions
* Apollo program
* Probes
* Landing
* Colonization
* Tourism
* Lunar resources

Time-telling and
navigation|

* Lunar calendar
* Lunisolar calendar
* Month
* Lunar month
* Nodal period
* Fortnight
* Sennight
* Lunar station
* Lunar distance

Phases and
names|

* New
* Full
* Names
* Crescent
* Super and micro
* Blood
* Blue
* Black
* Dark
* Wet
* Tetrad

Related|

* Lunar effect
* Moon illusion
* Pareidolia
* Man in the Moon
* Moon rabbit
* Craters named after people
* Artificial objects on the Moon
* Memorials on the Moon
* Moon in fiction
* Moon landing conspiracy theories
* Moon Treaty
* Moon in mythology
* Hjúki and Bil
* "Moon is made of green cheese"
* Natural satellite
* Double planet
* Lilith (hypothetical second moon)

* Category

* v
* t
* e

NASA

Policy and history|

| History|

* NACA (1915)
* National Aeronautics and Space Act (1958)
* Space Task Group (1958)
* Paine (1986)
* Rogers (1986)
* Ride (1987)
* Space Exploration Initiative (1989)
* Augustine (1990)
* U.S. National Space Policy (1996)
* CFUSAI (2002)
* CAIB (2003)
* Vision for Space Exploration (2004)
* Aldridge (2004)
* Augustine (2009)

|

General|

* Space Race
* Administrator and Deputy Administrator
* Chief Scientist
* Astronaut Corps
* Ranks and positions
* Chief
* Budget
* Spin-off technologies
* NASA TV
* NASA Social
* Launch Services Program
* Mercury Control Center
* Kennedy Space Center
* Vehicle Assembly Building
* Launch Complex 39
* Launch Control Center
* Operations and Checkout Building
* Johnson Space Center
* Mission Control
* Lunar Sample Laboratory

Robotic programs|

| Past|

* Hitchhiker
* Mariner
* Mariner Mark II
* MESUR
* Mars Surveyor '98
* New Millennium
* Lunar Orbiter
* Pioneer
* Planetary Observer
* Ranger
* Surveyor
* Viking
* Project Prometheus
* Mars Scout
* Mars Exploration Rover

|

Current|

* Living With a Star
* Lunar Precursor Robotic Program
* Earth Observing System
* Great Observatories program
* Explorer
* Small explorer
* Voyager
* Discovery
* New Frontiers
* Solar Terrestrial Probes
* Commercial Lunar Payload Services

Human spaceflight
programs|

| Past|

* X-15 (suborbital)
* Mercury
* Gemini
* Apollo
* Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (with the Soviet space program)
* Skylab
* Space Shuttle
* Shuttle–Mir (with Roscosmos State Corporation)
* Constellation

|

Current|

* International Space Station
* Commercial Orbital Transportation Services
* Commercial Crew Development
* Orion
* Artemis
* Lunar Gateway

Individual featured
missions
(human and robotic)|

| Past|

* COBE
* Mercury 3
* Mercury-Atlas 6
* Magellan
* Pioneer 10
* Pioneer 11
* Galileo
* GALEX
* GRAIL
* WMAP
* Space Shuttle
* Sojourner rover
* Spirit rover
* LADEE
* MESSENGER
* Aquarius
* Cassini
* Dawn
* Kepler space telescope
* Opportunity rover
* RHESSI
* observed

|

Currently
operating|

* Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
* 2001 Mars Odyssey
* New Horizons
* International Space Station
* Hubble Space Telescope
* Spitzer
* Swift
* THEMIS
* Mars Exploration Rover
* Curiosity rover
* timeline
* InSight
* GOES 14
* Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
* GOES 15
* Van Allen Probes
* Solar Dynamics Observatory
* Juno
* Mars Science Laboratory
* timeline
* NuSTAR
* Voyager 1
* Voyager 2
* WISE
* MAVEN
* MMS
* OSIRIS-REx
* Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite

Future|

* Joint Polar Satellite System
* James Webb Space Telescope
* Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope
* Mars 2020
* NISAR
* Europa Clipper

Communications
and navigation|

* Near Earth Network
* Space Network
* Deep Space Network (Goldstone
* Madrid
* Canberra
* Space Flight Operations Facility)
* Deep Space Atomic Clock

NASA lists|

* Astronauts
* by name
* by year
* Gemini astronauts
* Apollo astronauts
* List of NASA aircraft
* List of NASA missions
* uncrewed missions
* List of NASA contractors
* List of United States rockets
* List of NASA cancellations
* List of Space Shuttle missions
* crews
* List of NASA cameras on spacecraft

NASA images
and artwork|

* Earthrise
* The Blue Marble
* Family Portrait
* Pale Blue Dot
* Pillars of Creation
* Mystic Mountain
* Solar System Family Portrait
* The Day the Earth Smiled
* Fallen Astronaut
* Lunar plaques
* Pioneer plaques
* Voyager Golden Record
* Apollo 11 goodwill messages
* NASA insignia
* Gemini and Apollo medallions
* Mission patches

Related|

* Apollo 15 postal covers incident
* Space Mirror Memorial
* The Astronaut Monument
* U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame
* Space program on U.S. stamps
* Apollo 17 Moon mice
* Other primates in space
* NASA spinoff technologies

* Category

0.00

(0 votes)

Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar sample displays. Read more

|

Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Astronomy:Lunar_sample_displays&oldid=718037"
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template