Colorado lunar sample displays

The Colorado 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 Colorado by United States President Richard Nixon as goodwill gifts.

At the request of Nixon, NASA had about 250 presentation plaques made following Apollo 11 in 1969.

[3] In 1973 Nixon had the plaques sent to 135 countries, and to the United States with its territories, as a goodwill gesture.

This action was prompted by speculative news reports about the high value of the material and concern about the potential for theft.

[4] Some time after NASA astronaut Jack Lousma presented the Colorado Apollo 17 lunar sample display to then-Colorado Governor John Vanderhoof on January 9, 1974,[5] it was considered lost until it was located in June 2010 in Vanderhoof's home.