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Apollo 17 lunar sample display: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:43, 6 February 2023

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. A goodwill gift from the Apollo 17 mission was then given in the form of a wooden commemorative plaque display individually to all fifty states, five U.S. territories, and 135 nations worldwide.^[1]

History

Eugene Cernan ended his walk on the Moon in 1972 with a dedication to the young people of Earth. The theme of his speech from the Moon was the wish for peace and harmony among the people of the world. He explained that Harrison Schmitt, his fellow astronaut on the Moon with him, had just picked up a very significant Moon rock that they hoped would bring this worldwide peace through the distribution of its fragments. This basalt was later identified as lunar basalt 70017, dubbed the "goodwill rock".^[1]

Once brought back, this Moon rock was broken up into small fragments and distributed in 1973 by President Richard Nixon to all the countries of the world and to the United States with its territories as a goodwill gesture.^{[citation needed]}

Description

The goodwill Moon rock fragment of 1.14 grams was placed inside a solid piece of acrylic lucite, the Moon rock being embedded inside the Lucite material when it was molten. The clear plastic ball was about the size of a billiard ball and partially flat at the bottom. It was then mounted and glued onto a 10 inch by 14 inch wooden plaque.^{[citation needed]}

The next item directly below the Lucite ball was attached a metal plate of about 2 inches by 4 inches that read:

The fragment is a portion of a rock from the Taurus Valley of the Moon. It was part of a larger rock composed of many particles of different shapes and sizes, a symbol of the unity of human endeavor and mankind's hope for a future of peace and harmony.

The recipient's flag was mounted directly below this metal plate covered with a clear plastic cover.

Another metal descriptive plate was attached directly below the recipient's flag that read:

This flag of your state was carried to the Moon aboard Spacecraft America during the Apollo XVII mission,

December 7–19, 1972.
Presented to the people of the state of
_______________________________________
by the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

If the wooded display went to a country of the world instead of one of the states of the United States then the word "state" was replaced with "nation" or "kingdom".

The Apollo 17 wooden plaque displays with the goodwill Moon rocks were presented to all the states of the United States and all the countries of the world on March 21, 1973. President Nixon sent a letter on that date that accompanied the lunar sample displays to all the worldwide countries and all the states of the United States and its possessions. National Archives in Washington D.C. has a copy of this letter:

The Apollo lunar landing program conducted by the United States has been brought to a successful conclusion. Men from the planet Earth have reached the first milestone in space. But as we stretch for the stars, we know that we stand also upon the shoulders of many men of many nations here on our own planet. In the deepest sense our exploration of the moon was truly an international effort.

It is for this reason that, on behalf of the people of the United States I present this flag, which was carried to the moon, to the State, and its fragment of the moon obtained during the final lunar mission of the Apollo program.

If people of many nations can act together to achieve the dreams of humanity in space, then surely we can act together to accomplish humanity's dream of peace here on earth. It was in this spirit that the United States of America went to the moon, and it is in this spirit that we look forward to sharing what we have done and what we have learned with all mankind.^[1]

Countries

The recipients were 135 foreign countries, the 50 United States and its territories, and the United Nations. The nation or state that received the Moon rock also had its flag taken to the Moon and back by the crew of Apollo 17. This flag was also mounted on the commemorative plaque display with a message label below it saying it was a gift to the recipient.^[1]

Once the lunar sample displays were gifted, they became the property of the recipient.^[1]

• 
  Alabama display
• 
  Georgia display
• 
  Massachusetts display
• 
  United Kingdom display
• 
  Indiana display
• 
  New Hampshire display
• 
  Austria display
• 
  Arizona display
• 
  Colorado display
• 
  Rhode Island display
• 
  Tennessee display
• 
  Sweden display

Fate

The New York Times reported in 2012 that gifts of moon rocks were not well tracked or managed by NASA.^[2] Within the US, public gifts require legislation to be transferred, but other nations set their own laws.^[3] Some samples of lunar dust soil from the earlier Apollo 11 and samples from the Apollo 17 missions have been reported missing.^[1][3] Since 2005 entities and people have made concerted efforts to find the displays.^[4][5][6] Joseph Gutheinz, a former NASA Office of Inspector General special agent and a professor at the University of Phoenix in Arizona,^[7] had his students try to locate the displays. Robert PearlmanofcollectSPACE has also tracked the displays.^[1][3]

See also

• Apollo 11 lunar sample display
• List of Apollo lunar sample displays

References

Further reading

• "Tales of lunar rocks through the years". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Associated Press. 2012-05-23. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
• Millett, Lucy (September 17, 2009). "Moon rocks went missing around the world". Cyprus: Cyprus Mail. Retrieved November 3, 2012.

External links

• Partial list of Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 sample locations, NASA Johnson Space Center