The Colombia 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 Colombia 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

Misael Pastrana Borrero, as President of Colombia between 1970 and 1974, received from United States President Richard Nixon both lunar sample displays that he kept on his desk at the

Casa de Nariño The Palacio de Nariño (Spanish for Palace of Nariño) or Casa de Nariño (Spanish for House of Nariño) is the official home and principal workplace of the President of Colombia. It houses the main office of the executive branch and is located i ...

. Allegedly believing that the displays were a personal gift, Pastrana kept the Moon rocks after the end of his presidential term as interior decoration in the living room of his private house in Bogotá, Colombia. It was not until 1985 when journalist

Daniel Samper Pizano Daniel Samper Pizano (born 8 June 1945) is a Colombian lawyer, journalist, and prolific writer. Career Samper attended the Gimnasio Moderno, where he began writing in the student newspaper ''El Aguilucho''. At the age of 19 he worked for the C ...

, in search of the thought to be missing lunar displays, embarked on a mission that included contacting the Embassy of the United States in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

that confirmed that the displays were in fact not a personal gift to then President Pastrana but rather to all people of Colombia. Having received this information, Samper published an article with the allegation that Pastrana had stolen the lunar displays prompting Juan Carlos Pastrana, son of Misael Pastrana Borrero, to pass the displays to the Bogotá Planetarium. Since their return to public hands, the lunar sample displays remained in secured storage within the Bogotá Planetarium until 2003 when they were displayed for the first time to the public as part of the planetarium's permanent collection.

External links

Collect Space - Moonrock list

References

{{Reflist Colombia–United States relations Science and technology in Colombia Space program of Colombia