When Nixon was president, Sample 70017 was cut into fragments and distributed to all U.S. states and 135 countries around the globe as a goodwill gesture. What is it?
"Brazil lunar sample displays The Brazil lunar sample displays are two commemorative plaques consisting of small fragments of moon specimen brought back with the Apollo 11 and Apollo 17 moon missions and given in the 1970s to the people of the country of Brazil by United States President Richard Nixon as goodwill gifts. The Brazil Apollo 11 lunar sample display commemorative podium plaque consists of four ""moon rock"" rice-size particle specimens that were collected by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969 and a small Brazilian flag that went to the moon and back. The four ""moon"
"have here in the valley of Taurus-Littrow... composed of many fragments, of many sizes, and many shapes, probably from all parts of the Moon, perhaps billions of years old"" and made a special dedication to the young people of Earth. This rock was later labeled sample 70017. President Nixon ordered the distribution of fragments of the rock to 135 foreign heads of state and the 50 U.S. states. These gifts were distributed in 1973. Inside the United States, displays were given to all 50 states and 4 territories: American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico. Outside the United"
"was cut up into small fragments of approximately 1 gram. The specimen was encased in a plastic ball and mounted on the wooden plaque along with the New York state flag which had been taken to the moon and back by the crew of Apollo 17. The plaque was then distributed in 1973 by President Richard Nixon to the state of New York as he did that year to the other 49 states (the same as for the Apollo 11 plaque gifts). This was done as a goodwill gesture to promote peace and harmony. The New York Apollo 17 ""goodwill"
"rock was cut up into small fragments of approximately 1 gram. The specimen was encased in a plastic ball and mounted on the wooden plaque along with the Norwegian flag, which had been taken to the moon and back by the crew of Apollo 17. The plaque was then distributed in 1973 by President Richard Nixon to the country of Norway as he did that year to 134 other countries (the same as for the Apollo 11 plaque gifts). This was done as a goodwill gesture to promote peace and harmony. The Apollo 11 goodwill display given to Norway was"
"The specimen was encased in an acrylic ball and mounted on the wooden plaque along with the Missouri state flag which had been taken to the moon and back by the crew of Apollo 17. The plaque was then distributed in 1973 by President Richard Nixon to the state of Missouri as he did that year to the other 49 states (the same as for the Apollo 11 plaque gifts). This was done as a goodwill gesture to promote peace and harmony. In May 2010, ""The Record of Hackensack"", a newspaper in northern New Jersey, reported that Missouri's ""goodwill moon"
"was encased in a plastic ball and mounted on the wooden plaque along with the Colorado state flag which had been taken to the moon and back by the crew of Apollo 17. The plaque was then distributed in 1973 by President Richard Nixon to the state of Colorado as he did that year to the other 49 states (the same as for the Apollo 11 plaque gifts). This was done as a goodwill gesture to promote peace and harmony. The Colorado Apollo 11 lunar samples plaque was first displayed in a low-security location with easy public access on the"
"New York lunar sample displays The New York lunar sample displays are two commemorative plaques consisting of small fragments of moon specimen brought back with the Apollo 11 and Apollo 17 lunar missions and given in the 1970s to the people of the state of New York by United States President Richard Nixon as goodwill gifts. The New York Apollo 11 lunar sample display commemorative podium style plaque consists of four ""moon rock"" rice-size particle specimens that were collected by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969 and a small New York state flag that had been"
"rocks"" weigh about 0.05 grams total and are entirely enveloped in a clear plastic ball the size of a coin which is mounted to an approximately one foot square wooden display board on a small podium pedestal. The small sample display plaque also has mounted, directly below the ""goodwill moon rocks"", a small Nicaraguan flag that went to the moon and back on Apollo 11. The lunar sample display plaque was given to the people of Nicaragua as a gift by President Richard Nixon. Similar lunar sample displays were also given to all the states and territories of the United"
"was mounted directly below this metal plate covered with a clear plastic cover. Another metal descriptive plate was attached directly below the recipient's flag that read: If the wooded display went to a country of the world instead of one of the states of the United States then the word ""state"" was replaced with ""nation"" or ""kingdom"". The Apollo 17 wooden plaque displays with the so-called ""goodwill moon rocks"" were presented to all the states of the United States and all the countries of the world on March 21, 1973. President Nixon sent a letter on that date that accompanied"
"to the state of West Virginia. West Virginia lunar sample displays The West Virginia lunar sample displays are two commemorative plaques consisting of small fragments of moon specimen brought back with the Apollo 11 and Apollo 17 lunar missions and given in the 1970s to the people of the state of West Virginia by United States President Richard Nixon as goodwill gifts. The West Virginia Apollo 11 lunar sample display commemorative plaque consists of four ""moon rock"" rice-size particle specimens that were collected by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969 and a small West Virginia state"
"available for public viewing. New Jersey lunar sample displays The New Jersey lunar sample displays are two commemorative plaques consisting of small fragments of moon specimen brought back with the Apollo 11 and Apollo 17 lunar missions and given in the 1970s to the people of the state of New Jersey by United States President Richard Nixon. The New Jersey Apollo 11 lunar sample display commemorative podium style plaque consists of four ""moon rocks"" rice-size particle specimens that were collected by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969 and a small New Jersey state flag that was"
"Sands Test Facility near Las Cruces, New Mexico. Most of the rocks are stored in nitrogen to keep them free of moisture. They are handled only indirectly, using special tools. Over 100 research laboratories around the world conduct studies of the samples, and approximately 500 samples are prepared and sent to investigators every year. In November 1969, Nixon asked NASA to make up about 250 presentation Apollo 11 lunar sample displays for 135 nations, the fifty states of the United States and its possessions, and the United Nations. Each display included Moon dust from Apollo 11. The rice-sized particles were"
"flag which had been taken to the Moon and back by the crew of Apollo 17. The wooden plaque display was then distributed in 1973 by President Richard Nixon to the country of Canada as he did that year to all the countries of the world and all the states of the United States (the same as for the Apollo 11 plaque display gifts). This was done as a goodwill gesture to promote peace and harmony. In 1972 a 10-day international ""Youth Science Tour"" took place in the United States with 80 ""youth ambassadors"" ages 17 to 21 from all"
"× 15.24 cm) that had been to the Moon and back that laid directly below the acrylic plastic button container. The nylon flag was covered by a half inch clear plastic cover. The small podium display plaque was given to the people of the respective country or state as a gift by United States President Richard Nixon. All 135 countries worldwide received the display, as did the 50 states of the United States and the U.S. provinces. The United Nations also received this Apollo 11 display. Each presentation display had a message to that nation or state from Nixon explaining"
"Apollo 11 goodwill messages The Apollo 11 goodwill messages are statements from leaders of 73 countries around the world on a disc about the size of a 50-cent piece made of silicon that was left on the Moon by the Apollo 11 astronauts. The disc also carried names of the leadership of the Congress, the four committees of the House and Senate responsible for legislation related to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and NASA's top management, including past administrators and deputy administrators. At the top of the disc is the inscription: ""Goodwill messages from around the world brought"
"New Jersey lunar sample displays The New Jersey lunar sample displays are two commemorative plaques consisting of small fragments of moon specimen brought back with the Apollo 11 and Apollo 17 lunar missions and given in the 1970s to the people of the state of New Jersey by United States President Richard Nixon. The New Jersey Apollo 11 lunar sample display commemorative podium style plaque consists of four ""moon rocks"" rice-size particle specimens that were collected by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969 and a small New Jersey state flag that was taken to the moon"
"0.05 grams total and are entirely enveloped in a clear plastic button the size of a coin which is mounted to a wooden board approximately a foot square on a small podium pedestal display. The small podium plaque display also has mounted on it a small Canadian flag that had been taken to the moon and back on Apollo 11, which lies directly below the Moon rocks. The small podium plaque display was given to the people of Canada as a gift by President Richard Nixon. Similar lunar sample displays were also distributed to all the states of the United"
"total. They are encased in a clear plastic ball the size of a coin which is mounted to a wooden board approximately one foot square on a small podium pedestal display. The plaque display also has mounted on it a small Cyprus flag that had been taken to the Moon and back on Apollo 11. The plaque display was given to the people of Cyprus as a gift by United States President Richard Nixon. Similar lunar sample displays were also distributed to all the states of the United States and all the countries of the world. The Cyprus Apollo 17"
"by President Richard Nixon to the state of Alaska as he did that year to the other 49 states (the same as for the Apollo 11 plaque gifts). This was done as a goodwill gesture to promote peace and harmony. The Alaska Apollo 11 lunar commemorative wooden plaque display was on public viewing at the Alaska Transportation Museum in Anchorage in 1973. In September of that year, the museum burned down under suspicious circumstances and the Apollo 11 Alaska lunar plaque display was reported missing. It is suspected that an arsonist started the museum fire on September 6, 1973. The"
"weigh about 0.05 grams in total. They are encased in a clear plastic button the size of a coin which is mounted to a wooden board approximately one foot square on a small podium pedestal display. The small podium plaque display also has mounted on it a small Oregon state flag that had been taken to the moon and back, which lies directly below the ""goodwill moon rocks"". The small podium plaque display was given to the people of the state of Oregon as a gift by President Richard Nixon. Similar lunar sample displays were also distributed to all the"
"encased in a plastic ball and mounted on the wooden plaque along with the Swedish flag, which had been taken to the moon and back by the crew of Apollo 17. The plaque was then distributed in 1973 by President Richard Nixon to the country of Sweden as he did that year to 134 other countries (the same as for the Apollo 11 plaque gifts). This was done as a goodwill gesture to promote peace and harmony. The Apollo 11 plaque display given to Sweden by President Nixon in 1970 was reported missing by the Swedish Museum of Natural History"
"Canada lunar sample displays The Canada lunar sample displays are two commemorative plaques consisting of small fragments of Moon specimen brought back with the Apollo 11 and Apollo 17 lunar missions and given in the 1970s to the people of Canada by United States President Richard Nixon as goodwill gifts. The Apollo 11 Canadian moon rocks commemorative podium plaque display consists of four ""moon rock"" rice-size particle specimens that were collected by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969 and a small Canadian flag that went to the Moon and back. The four Moon rocks weigh about"
"was taken to the moon and back on Apollo 11. The four fragments weighed about 0.05 grams in total and were entirely enveloped in a clear plastic ball the size of a coin, mounted on a wooden board approximately one foot square on a small podium pedestal display. The display also had a small Irish flag mounted on it that had gone to the moon and back on Apollo 11. The display was given to the people of Ireland as a gift by United States President Richard Nixon. Similar lunar sample displays were distributed to the 50 states of the"
"11 plaque gifts). This was done as a goodwill gesture to promote peace and harmony. Shortly after the goodwill moon rock displays were given to the state of Nebraska in the 1970s by President Nixon, they were stored at the Nebraska governor's mansion and completely forgotten about. Nobody knew where the plaque displays were. They were rediscovered in 1997 when Dianne Nelson, wife of then-governor of Nebraska Ben Nelson, got involved in a project to renovate the governor's mansion to its original condition. Dianne found the Nebraska Apollo displays while the mansion was undergoing renovations and didn't know exactly what"
"was asked by one of the agents to put up the money, and did so. After leaving NASA for a teaching position at the University of Phoenix, in Arizona, Gutheinz challenged his criminal justice graduate students to locate the goodwill Moon rocks. He subsequently extended this project to also cover the missing Apollo 11 Moon rocks President Nixon gave to the states and nations of the world in 1969. Hundreds of graduate students have participated in this project from 2002 to the present and while many Moon rocks have been found, others are now known to be missing, stolen, or"
"Nixon to Brazilian President Emilio Medici Garrastazu of Bagé in 1972. Garrastazu donated the commemorate plaque display to the Taborda family, overseers of the Museum Dom Diogo de Souza in Bagé, which has held it ever since. Bartira Taborda, daughter of the founder of the museum, declared that the museum was greatly honored and took great pride in receiving such a huge donation to the museum. The Brazil Apollo 17 ""goodwill moon rock"" plaque display has caused much excitement and pride for the city of Bage and the state of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. The building in which"
"a goodwill gesture to promote peace and harmony. The Arkansas Apollo 17 lunar sample display was first presented to Arkansas governor David Pryor in 1976 and the people of the State of Arkansas. Bill Clinton succeeded Pryor as Governor of Arkansas. Valued at several million dollars, the Arkansas Apollo 17 lunar sample display with the ""goodwill moon rock"" was reported missing around 1980 when Clinton lost his first re-election as Governor of Arkansas. Apparently the memorial plaque with the ""moon rocks"" had been packed away with Clinton's gubernatorial papers and was forgotten about for some 30 years. It was rediscovered"
"Griffis, a graduate student at the University of Phoenix was assigned the task of tracking down the Apollo 17 Goodwill Moon Rock by his Professor Joseph Gutheinz. He discovered that the Colorado Apollo 17 Goodwill Moon Rock was missing, which led to the admission by Vanderhoof that he had possession of one of two Colorado moon rock displays that was presented to the state of Colorado by President Richard Nixon in the 1970s. Vanderhoof voluntarily surrendered the rock, which at the time was estimated to be worth $5 million. The rock was subsequently put on display at the Colorado School"
"the Nixon Shock and its impact on monetary policy in the light of the financial crisis of 2007–2008. Nixon shock The Nixon shock was a series of economic measures undertaken by United States President Richard Nixon in 1971, the most significant of which was the unilateral cancellation of the direct international convertibility of the United States dollar to gold. While Nixon's actions did not formally abolish the existing Bretton Woods system of international financial exchange, the suspension of one of its key components effectively rendered the Bretton Woods system inoperative. While Nixon publicly stated his intention to resume direct convertibility"
"of containment by diplomatic, rather than military means. Historian Christopher Andrew concludes that ""Nixon was a great statesman on the world stage as well as a shabby practitioner of electoral politics in the domestic arena. While the criminal farce of Watergate was in the making, Nixon's inspirational statesmanship was establishing new working relationships with both Communist China and the Soviet Union."" Historian Keith W. Olson has written that Nixon left a legacy of fundamental mistrust of government, rooted in Vietnam and Watergate. During the impeachment of Bill Clinton in 1998, both sides tried to use Nixon and Watergate to their"
"weigh about 0.05 grams in total. They are encased in a clear plastic button the size of a coin which is mounted to a wooden board approximately a foot square on a small podium pedestal display. The small podium plaque display also has mounted on it a small Netherlands flag that had been taken to the Moon and back on Apollo 11, which lies directly below the ""goodwill moon rocks"". The small podium plaque display was given to the people of the country of Netherlands as a gift by United States President Richard Nixon. Similar lunar sample displays were also"
"crew of Apollo 17. This flag was also mounted on the commemorative plaque display with a message label below it saying it was a gift to the recipient. The countries during Nixon's presidency that the plaques were given to were Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burma, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Dahomey, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Greece,"
"Nixon's election in 1968, American officials became increasingly concerned until Nixon finally issued Executive Order 11615 in August 1971, ending the direct convertibility of dollars to gold. He said, ""We must protect the position of the American dollar as pillar of monetary stability around the world ... I am determined that the American dollar must never again be hostage in the hands of the international speculators."" This became known as the Nixon Shock and marked the dollar's transition from the gold standard to a fiat currency. The United States enjoys some benefits because the dollar serves as the international reserve"