Nebraska lunar sample displays facts for kids
The Nebraska lunar sample displays are special gifts from the Moon! They are two plaques with tiny pieces of Moon rocks. These rocks were brought back by American astronauts during the Apollo 11 and Apollo 17 space missions. In the 1970s, President Richard Nixon gave them to the people of Nebraska as a sign of friendship.
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What Are Nebraska's Moon Rocks?
The Apollo 11 Moon Rock Display
The first display is from the Apollo 11 mission. It has four tiny "Moon rock" pieces, about the size of a grain of rice. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin collected these in 1969. The display also includes a small Nebraska state flag. This flag actually traveled to the Moon and back!
The four Moon rock pieces weigh very little, about 0.05 grams in total. They are sealed inside a clear plastic button, like a coin. This button is attached to a wooden board, about one foot square. The Nebraska flag is placed right below the Moon rocks. President Nixon gave this display to Nebraska as a gift. Similar tiny Moon rock displays were also given to all other U.S. states and many countries around the world.
The Apollo 17 Moon Rock Display
The second display is from the Apollo 17 mission. This plaque is about 10 by 14 inches. It features one "Moon rock" piece. This piece was cut from a larger Moon rock called lunar basalt 70017. Astronaut Harrison Schmitt collected this basalt on the Moon in 1972.
After the basalt 70017 came back to Earth, it was cut into small pieces. The piece on the display weighs about 1 gram. It is sealed inside a plastic ball. This ball is mounted on a wooden plaque. A Nebraska state flag, which also traveled to the Moon and back, is on the plaque too. President Nixon gave this display to Nebraska in 1973. He gave similar gifts to the other 49 states. These gifts were meant to promote peace and friendship.
Where Did the Moon Rocks Go?
After President Nixon gave the Moon rock displays to Nebraska, they were stored at the Nebraska governor's mansion. For many years, people forgot about them. No one knew where the plaques were.
Then, in 1997, the wife of the governor, Dianne Nelson, was working on a project. She wanted to make the governor's mansion look like it did originally. During these renovations, Dianne found the Apollo displays. She wasn't sure exactly what they were at first. She just knew they were wooden displays about the Apollo missions.
Later, the curator (manager) of the Ralph Mueller Planetarium confirmed the displays had been lost for a long time. When Dianne found them, she gave them to the Nebraska State Historical Society. This society helps educate people about Nebraska's past. They decided the Moon rocks should be shown in a natural history setting.
So, the Historical Society gave the Apollo displays to the Ralph Mueller Planetarium. The Planetarium is part of the University of Nebraska State Museum. Its goal is to teach people about outer space. The Planetarium remodeled an old exhibit space. Now, the Apollo lunar displays are shown there for everyone to see.
