posted 04-10-2006 11:43 AM               

NASA is presenting the Ambassador of Exploration Award to the 38 astronauts and other key individuals who participated in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space programs for realizing America's vision of space exploration from 1961 to 1972.

The award is a small sample of lunar material encased in Lucite and mounted for public display. The material is part of the 842 pounds of samples brought back to Earth during the six Apollo lunar expeditions from 1969 to 1972. Armstrong's award will be displayed at the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal. Armstrong, an Ohio native, was the first man to set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969. He is a Korean War combat veteran and has flown more than 200 different models of aircraft.