Space History News
space history and collectibles feature articles
Messages
discussion forums about space history and collecting
Sightings
calendar of worldwide astronaut appearances
buySPACE
marketplace for space artifacts, toys and memorabilia
Resources
collecting guides and selected space history documents
Websites
related space memorabilia and history websites
|
- The Editor's Collection -
Artifacts
space flown equipment and ground support hardware
Autographs
who's who in space: the first 25 years of space exploration
Books
galleys, drafts, and advanced reading copies
Medallions
flown coins and those minted with flown metal
Philatelics
first day ceremony programs and flown stamps
|
|
|
Full Coverage: NASA honoring astronauts, others with moon rocks
Article index:
Ambassadors of Exploration Photo Gallery
 |
 |
Gene Cernan
May 12, 2005
Pensacola, Florida |
Thomas Stafford
July 12, 2005
Weatherford, Oklahoma |
 |
 |
John Young
July 20, 2005
Houston, Texas |
Walt Cunningham
October 7, 2005
Dallas, Texas |
 |
 |
Wally Schirra
November 16, 2005
San Diego, California |
Richard Gordon
November 19, 2005
Seattle, Washington |
 |
 |
Vance Brand
January 21, 2006
Longmont, Colorado |
Ed Mitchell
February 5, 2006
West Palm Beach, Florida |
 |
 |
Stuart Roosa
February 9, 2006
Titusville, Florida |
Michael Collins
February 9, 2006
Garden City, New York |
 |
 |
John Glenn
February 20, 2006
Columbus, Ohio |
Deke Slayton
February 22, 2006
Sparta, Wisconsin |
 |
 |
Walter Cronkite
February 28, 2006
Austin, Texas |
Buzz Aldrin
March 25, 2006
Los Angeles, California |
 |
 |
Neil Armstrong
April 18, 2006
Cincinnati, Ohio |
Charlie Duke
May 8, 2006
St. Petersburg, Florida |
 |
 |
Frank Borman
May 8, 2006
Tucson, Arizona |
Christopher Kraft
September 30, 2006
Blacksburg, Virginia |
 |
 |
James McDivitt
October 6, 2006
Ann Arbor, Michigan |
Virgil "Gus" Grissom
September 28, 2007
Orlando, Florida |
 |
 |
Roger Chaffee
October 6, 2007
West Lafayette, Indiana |
Donn Eisele
October 23, 2007
Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
 |
Jack Swigert
May 23, 2008
Denver, Colorado |
Astronaut, Cronkite to get moon rocks
July 16, 2004 — To recognize the sacrifices and dedication of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts, each will be presented a moon rock as part of a special ceremony honoring the 35th anniversary of Apollo 11, Tuesday night at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
The moon rocks to be awarded are each part of sample returned by the Apollo 17 mission from the Taurus Littrow Valley. Each will be encased in an acrylic sphere and attached to a plaque bearing images of a Saturn V rocket launch, an astronaut (John Young) jumping on the Moon, the planet Mars and the International Space Station.
The lunar samples will remain the property of NASA, but the astronauts and their surviving families, in coordination with NASA, will select a museum or other educational institution where their awards will be publicly displayed in their name to help inspire a new generation of explorers.
The award celebrates the realization of a vision for exploration first articulated by President John F. Kennedy in May 1961, when NASA's fledgling human space flight program had little more than 15 minutes of space flight experience. In addition to the moon rocks, each of the 34 astronauts (nine now deceased) will be named by NASA as "Ambassadors of Exploration".
Among the honorees will also be Walter Cronkite, the only non-astronaut selected as an Ambassador of Exploration. Millions experienced the early years of space exploration through the Cronkite's news reports. During the Apollo 11 mission, Cronkite was on the air for 27 of the 30 hours it took for Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to complete their work on the lunar surface.
As Ambassadors of Exploration, the recipients will help NASA communicate the benefits and excitement of space exploration and "why the continuing investment in our future is vital to the security and vitality of America."
The award ceremony will be broadcast live on NASA TV and on its website beginning at 7:30 p.m. EDT, July 20.
Our earlier article, based on an MSNBC report, incorrectly identified only the Apollo astronauts, rather than also the Mercury and Gemini veterans, as receiving moon rocks.
Astronauts to get moon rocks in name
July 14, 2004 — The crew of Apollo 11 - Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins - will celebrate the 35th anniversary of their mission next week at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. While there, the three astronauts, along with their fellow Apollo crewmates will each be presented a small piece of the world they were first to reach: the Moon.
During a ceremony held at the museum, the moonwalkers and voyagers will be presented with plaques adorned with lunar samples, reports MSNBC space analyst Jim Oberg. At least, that is the plan. Oberg cites a source as saying the moon rock plaques may not be ready in time and that certificates would be given instead.
Plaques or paper, the astronauts will not get to keep the rare lunar material for themselves, says a spokesman for NASA, Bob Jacobs to MSNBC. "The astronauts would not 'own' the lunar samples," told Jacobs. "The samples will be presented in the names of the astronauts to museums or other educational institutions of their choice in coordination with NASA."
According to Jacobs, details about the plaques were still to be decided. The size of the moon rocks, how they are attached to the plaque, what the plaques read, and/or how they are to be donated have yet to be released. Unclear is whether the families of deceased Apollo astronauts will also receive samples to donate.
A previous effort in 2000 to award the Apollo astronauts lunar samples got as far as a bill passing in the House of Representatives. A Senate version never emerged and the "Apollo Exploration Award Act" died in Congress. Had the bill passed into law, the astronauts would have owned the moon rocks but they could only be transferred through family inheritance or non-profit donation.
Of the 842 pounds of moon rock returned by Apollo, only 5.6 ounces have been given away to foreign nations as goodwill gifts. No individual until now has ever been given a lunar sample as the moon rocks are considered national treasures. Most of the material returned by six missions between 1969 and 1972 is stored within two NASA vaults in Texas and New Mexico. |
© 1999-2008 collectSPACE.com All rights reserved.
Questions? E-mail contact@collectspace.com
|
|
|
Feedback: Messages
Quick Look
Where NASA's Ambassador of Exploration moon rock awards are on display
| Alan Shepard |
|
TBA |
| Gus Grissom |
|
Walt Disney World Resort: Epcot
Orlando, FL (9.28.07) |
| John Glenn |
|
John Glenn Institute of Public Service and Public Policy
Columbus, OH (2.20.06) |
| Scott Carpenter |
|
Denver Museum of Nature and Science Denver, CO (11.10.07) |
| Wally Schirra |
|
San Diego Aerospace Museum
San Diego, CA (11.16.05) |
| Gordon Cooper |
|
TBA |
| John Young |
|
Museum of Natural Science
Houston, TX (7.20.05) |
| Jim McDivitt |
|
University of Michigan College of Engineering
Ann Arbor, MI (10.06.06) |
| Edward White |
|
TBA |
| Pete Conrad |
|
The Museum of Flight
Seattle, WA (11.18.06) |
| Frank Borman |
|
Pima Air and Space Museum
Tucson, AZ (5.08.06) |
| James Lovell |
|
TBA |
| Tom Stafford |
|
Stafford Air and Space Museum
Weatherford, OK (7.12.05) |
| Neil Armstrong |
|
Cincinnati Museum Center
Cincinnati, OH (4.18.06) |
| David Scott |
|
TBA |
| Gene Cernan |
|
National Museum of Naval Aviation
Pensacola, FL (5.12.05) |
| Michael Collins |
|
Cradle of Aviation Museum
Garden City, NY (2.09.06) |
| Dick Gordon |
|
The Museum of Flight
Seattle, WA (11.19.05) |
| Buzz Aldrin |
|
California Science Center
Los Angeles, CA (3.25.06) |
| Roger Chaffee |
|
Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering, Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN (10.06.07) |
| Donn Eisele |
|
Broward Public Library
Ft. Lauderdale, FL (10.23.07) |
| Walt Cunningham |
|
Frontiers of Flight Museum
Dallas, TX (10.7.05) |
| Bill Anders |
|
TBA |
| Rusty Schweickart |
|
TBA |
| Alan Bean |
|
TBA |
| Fred Haise |
|
TBA |
| Jack Swigert |
|
Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum
Denver, CO (5.23.08) |
| Stuart Roosa |
|
U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame
Titusville, FL (2.09.06) |
| Ed Mitchell |
|
South Florida Science Museum
West Palm Beach, FL (2.05.06) |
| Jim Irwin |
|
TBA |
| Al Worden |
|
TBA |
| Ken Mattingly |
|
TBA |
| Charlie Duke |
|
Admiral Farragut Academy
St. Petersburg, FL (5.08.06) |
| Ronald Evans |
|
TBA |
| Harrison Schmitt |
|
TBA |
| Deke Slayton |
|
Deke Slayton Memorial Space & Bike Museum
Sparta, WI (2.22.06) |
| Vance Brand |
|
Museum & Cultural Center
Longmont, CO (1.21.06) |
| Walter Cronkite |
|
Center for American History
Austin, TX (2.28.06) |
| Chris Kraft |
|
Virginia Tech University College of Engineering
Blacksburg, VA (9.30.06) |
| Gene Kranz |
|
Central Catholic High School
Toledo, OH (12.6.07) |
|
|
