The Brazil lunar sample displays are two

commemorative plaque A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...

s consisting of small fragments of Moon specimen brought back with the

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, an ...

and

Apollo 17 Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the final mission of NASA's Apollo program, the most recent time humans have set foot on the Moon or traveled beyond low Earth orbit. Commander Gene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt walked on ...

Moon missions and given in the 1970s to the people of the country of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

by United States President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

as goodwill gifts.

Description

Apollo 11

Apollo 17

History

The Brazil Apollo 17 "goodwill Moon rock" plaque display is held in the state of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...

by the Museum Dom Diogo de Souza in

Bagé Bagé () is a city located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. In 2020, its population was 121,335 in a total area of 4,096 km2. It was the seventeenth largest city in the state according to the 2011 census. The city was founded in 181 ...

; the museum acquired it from Brazilian President Emilio Medici Garrastazu. The display is a source of pride for the city. As of 2002, the building in which the Brazil Apollo 17 lunar sample display is stored was a dilapidated nineteenth-century structure. When an idea to sell the display to raise money emerged in 2000, the residents of the city protested and the plan was withdrawn. The display is rarely exhibited.

References

External links

Partial list of Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 sample locations, NASA Johnson Space Center
{{The Moon Stolen and missing Moon rocks Brazil–United States relations Space program of Brazil