The Alaska State Museum August 2024 Artifacts of the Month are moon rocks that the Apollo 11 astronauts brought back to Earth after the first moon landing in 1969, and a small Alaska Flag that also went to the moon and back.
Left: Small dark gray rocks encased in a Lucite sphere are mounted on a wooden pedestal with a small Alaskan Flag that went to the moon with the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 (Object ID: 2012-24-1). Right: Close-up of rocks.
During the Apollo 11 moon landing, Commander Neil Armstrong, Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Command Module Pilot Michael Collins collected 21.5 kg (~47 lbs.) of lunar material and brought it back to Earth.
Some of the lunar fragments were gifted to Alaska. People still recall when the small rocks toured the state. One stop on the tour was Gastineau School (now Sayéik Elementary School) in Douglas, where students lined up to take a look.
The rocks were eventually displayed at the Transportation Museum in Anchorage, until a fire destroyed the facility in 1973. Following the fire, the moon rocks went missing for 40 years until it was learned that the stepson of the museum’s curator had taken the rocks home for safekeeping. See the article Alaska Reclaims Moon Rocks for the story.
In a 1971 interview, the late Benny Benson, who designed the state flag, commented on the Alaska flag that went to the moon and back: “I think the biggest thing that ever happened was when they flew the Alaska flag to the moon with other state flags [on the 1969 Apollo 11 mission]. I think that was quite a deal.”
In addition to the moon rocks from Apollo 11, a moon rock from the Apollo 17 mission is also on display at the museum (III-O-888). Both samples can be found in the Earth Sciences portion of the gallery. For more information on the artifacts of the month, watch Curator of Collections Steve Henrikson share their history with the Marie Drake Planetarium 2023 Astronomy Camp: How Moon Rocks Arrived at the Alaska State Museum (Part 1) & How Moon Rocks Arrived at the Alaska State Museum (Part 2).
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