Apollo 11 goodwill messages

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The silicon disc with goodwill messages left on the Moon by Apollo 11 astronauts

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 in 1969 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 to the Moon by the astronauts of Apollo 11." Around the rim is the statement: "From Planet Earth – July 1969". The collected letters were given to the GCA Corp in Burlington MA which used a reduction camera to make a negative photomask containing all the letters plus an inscription around its edge at its final size. This mask was given to Sprague Electric Company of North Adams, Massachusetts which imaged it onto a silicon wafer and etched the pattern into the wafer. NASA head Thomas O. Paine proposed the idea to the U.S. State Department, and corresponded with world leaders to solicit their messages. These were enshrined by being photographed and reduced to 1/200 scale ultra microfiche silicon etching. The disc rests in an aluminum case on the Moon's Sea of Tranquility.[1]

The disc was in a package in Buzz Aldrin's suit shoulder pocket along with some other memorial items. He was reminded about the package by Neil Armstrong while ascending the ladder of the Lunar Module Eagle to finish their EVA. He then dropped it to the surface.[2] Later Houston requested and received confirmation they had placed it.[3]

Countries represented in the messages[edit]

State Signed by
Afghanistan Mohammed Zahir Shah
King of Afghanistan
Argentina Juan Carlos Onganía
President of Argentina
Australia John Gorton
Prime Minister of Australia
Belgium Baudouin I
King of the Belgians
Brazil Artur da Costa e Silva
President of Brazil
Canada Pierre Trudeau
Prime Minister of Canada
Chad François Tombalbaye
President of Chad
Chile Eduardo Frei Montalva
President of Chile
China[a] Chiang Kai-shek
President of China
Colombia Carlos Lleras Restrepo
President of Colombia
Congo-Kinshasa Joseph-Desiré Mobutu
President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Costa Rica José Joaquín Trejos Fernández
President of Costa Rica
Cyprus Makarios III
President of Cyprus
Dahomey Émile Derlin Zinsou
President of Dahomey
Denmark Frederik IX
King of Denmark
Dominican Republic Joaquin Balaguer
President of the Dominican Republic
Ecuador José María Velasco Ibarra
President of Ecuador
Estonia[b] Ernst Jaakson
Consul General of Estonia to the United States
Ethiopia Haile Selassie I
Emperor of Ethiopia
Ghana Akwasi Afrifa
Head of state of Ghana
Greece Georgios Zoitakis
Regent of Greece[c]
Guyana Forbes Burnham
Prime Minister of Guyana
Iceland Kristjan Eldjarn
President of Iceland
India Indira Gandhi
Prime Minister of India
Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Shah of Iran[4]
Ireland Éamon de Valera
President of Ireland
Israel Zalman Shazar
President of Israel
Italy Giuseppe Saragat
President of Italy
Ivory Coast Félix Houphouët-Boigny
President of Ivory Coast
Jamaica Hugh Shearer
Prime Minister of Jamaica
Japan Eisaku Satō
Prime Minister of Japan
Kenya Jomo Kenyatta
President of Kenya
Laos Sisavang Vatthana
King of Laos
Latvia[b] Anatols Dinbergs
Ambassador of Latvia to the United States
Lebanon Charles Helou
President of Lebanon
Lesotho Leabua Jonathan
Prime Minister of Lesotho
Liberia William Tubman
President of Liberia
Madagascar Philibert Tsiranana
President of Madagascar
Malaysia Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah
Yang di-Pertuan Agong
Maldives Unknown; the message is not signed. Ibrahim Nasir was President of the Maldives at the time.
Mali Moussa Traoré
President of Mali
Malta Giorgio Borg Olivier
Prime Minister of Malta
Mauritius Seewoosagur Ramgoolam
Prime Minister of Mauritius
Mexico Gustavo Díaz Ordaz
President of Mexico
Morocco Hassan II
King of Morocco
Netherlands Juliana
Queen of the Netherlands
New Zealand Keith Holyoake
Prime Minister of New Zealand
Nicaragua Anastasio Somoza Debayle
President of Nicaragua
Norway Olav V
King of Norway
Pakistan Yahya Khan
President of Pakistan
Panama Bolívar Urrutia Parrilla
President of Panama
Peru Juan Velasco Alvarado
President of Peru
Philippines Ferdinand Marcos
President of the Philippines
Polish People's Republic Jerzy Michałowski [pl]
Ambassador of Poland to the United States
Portugal Américo Tomás
President of Portugal
Romania Nicolae Ceaușescu
General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party
Senegal Léopold Sédar Senghor
President of Senegal
Sierra Leone Siaka Stevens
Prime Minister of Sierra Leone
South Africa Jacobus Johannes Fouché
State President of South Africa
South Korea Park Chung Hee
President of the Republic of Korea
South Vietnam Nguyễn Văn Thiệu
President of the Republic of Vietnam
Swaziland Sobhuza II
King of Swaziland
Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej
King of Thailand
Togo Gnassingbé Eyadéma
President of Togo
Trinidad and Tobago Eric Williams
Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia Habib Bourguiba
President of Tunisia
Turkey Cevdet Sunay
President of Turkey
United Kingdom Elizabeth II
Queen of the United Kingdom[d]
Upper Volta Sangoulé Lamizana
President of Upper Volta
Uruguay Jorge Pacheco Areco
President of Uruguay
Vatican City Pope Paul VI
Sovereign of the Vatican City State
Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito
President of Yugoslavia
Zambia Kenneth Kaunda
President of Zambia
  1. ^ The U.S. maintained relations with the Republic of China as "China" instead of the People's Republic of China.
  2. ^ a b The US government did not recognize the Soviet annexation of the Baltic states.
  3. ^ Regent for King Constantine II
  4. ^ Also as Queen of Australia, Barbados, Canada, Ceylon, Fiji, the Gambia, Guyana, Jamaica, Malta, Mauritius, New Zealand, Rhodesia, Sierra Leone and Trinidad and Tobago.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Apollo 11 Goodwill Messages" (PDF). NASA. July 13, 1969. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
  2. ^ Jones, Eric M. (November 12, 2017). "Apollo 11 Surface Journal:EASEP Deployment and Closeout". NASA. Event occurs at 111:36:38. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  3. ^ Jones, Eric M. (October 28, 2017). "Apollo 11 Surface Journal:Trying to Rest". NASA. Event occurs at 114:52:28. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  4. ^ Rahman, Tahir (2008). We came in peace for all mankind : the untold story of the Apollo 11 silicon disk (1st ed.). Overland Park, Kan.: Leathers Pub. ISBN 9781585974412.

External links[edit]