From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The
Colorado lunar sample displays
are two
commemorative plaques
consisting of small fragments of
Moon specimen
brought back with the
Apollo 11
and
Apollo 17
lunar missions and given in the 1970s to the people of the state of
Colorado
by United States President
Richard Nixon
as goodwill gifts.
Description
[
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]
Apollo 11
[
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]
At the request of Nixon,
NASA
had about 250 presentation plaques made following
Apollo 11
in 1969. Each included about four rice-sized particles of
Moon dust
from the mission totaling about 50 mg.
[1]
[2]
The Apollo 11 lunar sample display has an acrylic plastic button containing the Moon dust mounted with the recipient's country or state flag that had been to the Moon and back. All 135 countries received the display, as did the 50 states of the United States and the U.S. provinces and the United Nations.
[1]
The plaques were given as gifts by Nixon in 1970.
[1]
Apollo 17
[
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]
The sample Moon rock collected during the
Apollo 17
mission was later named
lunar basalt 70017
, and dubbed the
Goodwill rock
.
[3]
Pieces of the rock weighing about 1.14 grams
[2]
were placed inside a piece of
acrylic lucite
, and mounted along with a flag from the country that had flown on Apollo 17 it would be distributed to.
[3]
In 1973 Nixon had the plaques sent to 135 countries, and to the United States with its territories, as a goodwill gesture.
[3]
History
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]
The Colorado Apollo 11 lunar samples plaque was first displayed in a low-security location with easy public access on the first floor of the
Colorado State Capitol
building beginning around 1992.
[4]
By 2010 it had been moved to a secure display on the third floor, when the Capitol Building Advisory Committee decided to move it to an unknown location until it could come up with plans for a permanent secure location. This action was prompted by speculative news reports about the high value of the material and concern about the potential for theft.
[4]
Some time after
NASA
astronaut
Jack Lousma
presented the Colorado Apollo 17 lunar sample display to then-Colorado Governor
John Vanderhoof
on January 9, 1974,
[5]
it was considered lost until it was located in June 2010 in Vanderhoof's home.
[6]
A Denver news channel reported that Vanderhoof, who left office in 1975, "didn't know what to do with the display once he left office so he simply decided to take it with him".
[5]
The plaque display with the Apollo 17 "Moon rock" has since been moved to the
Colorado School of Mines
,
[6]
where it is displayed in the Geology Museum.
[4]
[7]
See also
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
a
b
c
Pearlman, Robert
.
"Where today are the Apollo 11 goodwill lunar sample displays?"
.
CollectSPACE
.
Archived
from the original on November 8, 2020
. Retrieved
November 2,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
"Tales of lunar rocks through the years"
.
The San Diego Union-Tribune
. Associated Press. 2012-05-23.
Archived
from the original on 2023-02-06
. Retrieved
2023-02-06
.
- ^
a
b
c
Pearlman, Robert
.
"Where today are the Apollo 17 goodwill lunar sample displays"
.
CollectSPACE
.
Archived
from the original on 2012-10-15
. Retrieved
2023-02-06
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Citing Security, Colo. Removes Apollo 11 Moon Rocks From Display"
.
State Bill Colorado
. July 14, 2010. Archived from
the original
on May 27, 2012
. Retrieved
November 12,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
"7NEWS Tracks Down State's Missing Moon Rock/Rock, Plaque Discovered At Former Colo. Governor's Home"
.
KMGH-TV
. June 1, 2010. Archived from
the original
on November 1, 2011
. Retrieved
November 2,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
Kendall, Trisha (January 1, 2011).
"Moon Rock Lands at Mines"
.
Mines
. Golden, Colorado:
Colorado School of Mines
. Retrieved
November 12,
2012
.
- ^
"Gov. Ritter, Mines unveil new home for moon rock Gov. Ritter, Mines unveil new home for moon rock"
. Golden, Colorado:
Colorado School of Mines
. Archived from
the original
on November 13, 2012
. Retrieved
November 12,
2012
.
Further reading
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Main articles
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People and places
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Country displays
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US state displays
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Related media
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