posted 07-08-2018 12:39 AM               

Apollo 11:

On page 12 of The Irish Times, dated 11 April 1970, there is a photograph of Irish President Éamon de Valera inspecting the flown Apollo 11 Irish flag and lunar fragment which was presented to him at Áras an Uachtaráin by US Ambassador John D. J. Moore as a gift to the people of Ireland from US President Nixon.

De Valera was a mathematician and teacher, who established the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) in 1940, so he was keenly interested in the achievements of the US Apollo Program.

On page 6 of The Irish Times, dated 4 October 1977, the fate of the Apollo 11 plaque was announced thus:

...a piece of moon rock from an Apollo Mission which had been presented to President de Valera was lost.

Apollo 17:

Gene Cernan, John Young, and their wives arrived in Dublin on 2 September 1973 and attended a formal reception that night at Deerfield — the US Ambassador's official residence in the Phoenix Park.

The previously posted photograph of Cernan, Young, Moore, and Childers, taken by Pat Langan, appeared on page 6 of The Irish Times, dated 6 September 1973. The Apollo 17 Goodwill Moon Rock presentation ceremony occurred on 5 September 1973 at President Childers' official residence, Áras an Uachtaráin, in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.

Cernan and Young also attended the closing banquet of the FAI Congress in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin on 7 September 1973.

quote:

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Originally posted by dom:
I think we know the full story now...

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Astronaut Lost His Luggage Between London And Dublin

posted 08-05-2018 03:53 AM               

[Elizabeth Weinstein, the museum's chief curator] said, at some point the moon rocks were removed from their original mounting, which includes a plaque with a small Louisiana flag that also went to the moon and the rocks' official authentication from NASA.

Museum officials recently restored the rocks to their original plaque and hope to have them back on view by July 20, 2019, the 50th anniversary of when Armstrong took "one small step."

As for the piece of the Apollo 17 moon rock that was given to Louisiana, Weinstein had no idea where it might be. There is no record of its presentation or exhibit in The Advocate’s archives. The Louisiana State Museum and state archives and governor’s office had no record of it, though the governor's office said it is still looking.

posted 09-12-2018 12:38 PM               

In Utah, the division of state history had no record of the sample, but The Associated Press confirmed it was in storage at Salt Lake City's Clark Planetarium.

Officials there may bring it out as part of celebrations recognizing the Apollo 11 anniversary next year...

posted 09-27-2021 04:15 PM               

Louisiana's missing moon rock found in Florida thanks to broken gun

A long lost piece of the moon belonging to the state of Louisiana may have remained missing — if not also been discarded or destroyed — had the plaque on which it was mounted not attracted the eye of a Florida gun collector.

The man, who was looking for wood samples to use in the repair or replacement of his damaged gunstocks, purchased the Apollo 17 goodwill moon rock display without realizing what it was. The buyer, who requested to remain anonymous but resides in Merritt Island, near Cape Canaveral, said that he had likely purchased the plaque at a garage sale sometime over the past 15 years.

posted 12-14-2022 07:30 PM               

Fifty years late, US gifts Apollo 17 moon rock to people of Cyprus

It took 50 years, but a moon rock intended as a goodwill gift from the United States to the people of Cyprus is finally being presented to the east Mediterranean island nation.

The lunar sample, encased in an acrylic ball and mounted to a wooden plaque, will be officially handed over during a ceremony at the presidential palace in Nicosia on Friday (Dec. 16). To celebrate the occasion, the U.S. Embassy arranged for the moon rock to be displayed by the Cyprus Space Exploration Organization (CSEO) as part of an exhibit open through Sunday.

posted 12-31-2024 10:15 AM               

Ireland's lost Apollo 11 moon rock traced from basement to fire in documents

New details about the small pieces of the moon gifted by the United States to Ireland in 1970 have now been unearthed. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the Apollo 11 lunar samples, themselves.

The four moon pebbles, which were embedded in a single lucite ball and mounted to a wooden podium together with a small flag of Ireland that was flown on NASA's first lunar landing, was one of 135 such goodwill presentations that the U.S. made to foreign countries following the Apollo 11 mission in 1969.