In November 1969, then-U.S. President Richard Nixon requested that NASA create approximately 250 displays containing lunar surface material and the flags of 135 nations, U.S. possessions and states.

Each presentation included 0.05 grams of Apollo 11 moon dust, in the form of four small pieces encased in an acrylic button, as well as the flag of the recepient nation or state, also flown on the first manned lunar landing mission.

The displays that were presented to foreign heads of state included the inscription:

Presented to the People of ____________ by Richard Nixon, President of the United States of America.

This Flag of Your Nation was Carried to the Moon and Back by Apollo 11 and This Fragment of the Moon's Surface was Brought to Earth by the Crew of That First Manned Lunar Landing.

(With exception to the plaque for Venezuela: it was discovered that the nation's flag was not flown aboard the Apollo 11 spacecraft. Instead, a flag carried on Apollo 12 was used with the wording: "This flag of your nation was carried to the moon and back, and this fragment of the moon's surface was brought to Earth by the crew of the first manned lunar landing.")

Distribution of the lunar sample displays

Once gifted, each of the lunar sample displays became the property of the recepient entity and therefore was no longer subject to being tracked by NASA. All other lunar samples' locations are well documented by the U.S. space agency to this day (with exception to similarly gifted Apollo 17 goodwill moon rocks).

As property of the nation or state, the Apollo 11 lunar samples are now subject to the laws for public gifts as set by that country. In most cases, as in the United States, public gifts cannot be legally transferred to individual ownership without the passage of additional legislation.

Since 2005, collectSPACE has attempted to locate the current whereabouts of all the Apollo 11 lunar sample displays. The following chart details those efforts.

Special gratitude is extended to former NASA Office of Inspector General special agent Joseph Gutheinz, who today as a professor at the University of Phoenix, Arizona, has challenged his students to locate the displays.

Do you know the current status of an Apollo 11 display? Write us at moonrocks@collectspace.com