Moon Rock
This Moon Rock was retrieved from the moon during the USA NASA Apollo 11 space mission, crewed by astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., and Michael Collins, on their 20 July 1969 moon landing. They presented this gift to the United Nations at the one-year anniversary of that flight, on 20 July 1970.
Apollo 11 was the flight that flew humans to the moon. It was Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar pilot Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin that were the first to walk the moon. They collected about 50 pounds or 22 kilos of moon material to bring back to earth. In November 1969, USA President Nixon asked NASA to provide displays for 135 nations, 50 USA states and the United Nations.
This Moon Rock or Lunar Sample is on loan from USA’s NASA to the United Nations. No one person is legally permitted ownership of a moon rock, nor any piece of the moon, as the moon is considered to be shared by all mankind. Aldrin said before return landing on earth, “We've been pleased with the emblem of our flight, the eagle carrying an olive branch, bringing the universal symbol of peace from the planet Earth to the Moon.”
On the first anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, a Moon Rock was presented by NASA Administrator Thomas O. Paine and three Apollo 11 astronauts, Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., and Michael Collins to the United Nation’s Secretary-General U Thant who accepted it on behalf of the United Nations. Also presented was a United Nations flag that made the journey to the moon and back.
Secretary-General U Thant presented the visitors with a set of the 25th Anniversary Commemorative medals of the United Nations.
Secretary-General U Thant said at the presentation ceremony, “the flight of Apollo 11, the moon walk, and the successful return to earth, brought to us a renewed realization of what we, as members of the human race, can accomplish on this planet with our resources and technology if we are prepared to combine our efforts and work together for the benefit of all mankind.”