The Arkansas 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 ...

lunar missions and given in the 1970s to the people of the state of

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

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

In 1976, the Arkansas Apollo 17 lunar sample display was presented to Arkansas governor

David Pryor David Hampton Pryor (born August 29, 1934) is an American politician and former Democratic United States Representative and United States Senator from the State of Arkansas. Pryor also served as the 39th Governor of Arkansas from 1975 to 1979 ...

;

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

succeeded Pryor as

Governor of Arkansas A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

. Valued at several million dollars, the display was reported missing around 1980. It was rediscovered in 2011 by an archivist, according to the director of the

Central Arkansas Library System Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) is a public library system headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. The largest public library system in Arkansas, the Central Arkansas Library System serves all residents of Pulaski County and Perry Cou ...

. The archivist found it in a box of Clinton's gubernatorial materials in the basement of the

Butler Center for Arkansas Studies The mission of the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies (est. 1997) is to promote "a greater understanding and appreciation of Arkansas history, literature, art, and culture." Named after Richard C. Butler Sr., a noted Little Rock lawyer and philan ...

in Little Rock. The plastic ball container holding the Moon rock was broken off in a box of Clinton's gubernatorial materials. (It has since been reattached.) It was turned over for display at the

Arkansas Museum of Discovery The Museum of Discovery, formerly the Arkansas Museum of Natural History and Antiquities, is located in downtown Little Rock, Arkansas. The museum is housed in a historic building in the River Market District (Little Rock, Arkansas), River Mark ...

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

. According to Moon rocks researcher

Robert Pearlman Robert Zane Pearlman (born January 14, 1976) is an American space historian and the founder and editor of collectSPACE, a website devoted to news and information concerning space exploration and space-related artifacts and memorabilia, especiall ...

, the Arkansas Apollo 11 lunar sample display is also housed at the Arkansas Museum of Discovery.

Description

Apollo 11

Apollo 17

History

See also

References

Further reading