Apollo 11 Goodwill Messages
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
FOR RELEASE: SUNDAY July 13, 1969 RELEASE NO: 69-83F . .. -. I. APOLLO 11 GOODWILL MESSAGES A small disc carrying statements by Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy,. Johnson and Nixon and messages of goodwill from lead- ers of 73 countries around the world will be left on the Moon by the Apollo 11 astronauts. The disc also carries a listing of the leadership of the Congress and a listing of members of the four committees of the House and Senate responsible for the National Aeronautics and . Space Administration legislation. Additionally, the names of NASA's top management, including past Administrators and Deputy Administrators, and the present NASA management are included. These include NASA's first Administrator, Dr. T. Keith Glennan; its long-time Deputy Administrator, the late Dr. Hugh L. Dryden; former Administr>ator James E. Webb; and former Deputy Administrator, Dr. Robert C. Seamans, Jr., present Secretary of the Air Force. -more- 7/11/69 -%? ,,, , , . -2- Dr. Thomas 0 Paine is the present NASA Administrator. The disc, about the size of a 50-cent piece, is made of silicon -- ,a non-metallic chemical element found abundantly in nature and used widely im modern electronics. Through a process used to make microminiature electronic circuits, the statements, the messages, and names were etched (sn the grey-colored disc. Each message was reduced 200 times to a size rnuch smaller than the head of a !)in (0.0425 x 0.055 inches) and appears on the disc as a barely visible dot. NASA':; Electronics Research Center at Cambridge, Mass., was assisted by the Sprague Electric Company's Serci-Conductor Division, Worcester, Mass., in preparing the historic disc. In addition to the disc, Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., will also leave on the lunar surface an American flag and a plaque inscribed "Here men from the plafiet Earth/First set foot upon the Moon/July 1969 A.D./We came in peace for all mankind." The plaque will bear the names of Armstrong, Aldrin, the third Apollo astronaut,Michael Collins, and President Nixon, and will be attached to a leg of the descent stage of the lunar module. .. -more- &< .,.. .. 1. .., T' ... .-.- .. , T'-. --..- . .. - __ ,, _. .~. -_.--. T. - -----I---'-7 - - . *. # .. +. -3- At the top of the disc is the incription: "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 messages from foreign leaders congratulate the United States and its astronauts and also express hope for peace to all nations of the world. Some are handwritten, others typed and many are in native language. A highly decorative message from the Vatican is signed by Pope Paul. Silicon, which first came into general use Curing World War I1 in the production of diodes, was chcsen to %ear the miniaturlzed messages for its ability to withstand the extreme temperatures of the Moon which range from 250 degrees to minus 280 Fahrenheit. Because of its purity and stabil:?jr, silicon is used ex- tensively today in production of tiny integrated circuits by a process that permits hundreds of devices to be formed at one time within the thin silicon disc. The same process used in making integrated circuits pro- duced the message chip. First, the messages were photographed and the photo reduced 200 times. -mol +e- "* .., ._ L".. - .- - -- -T - - ----- - T -- - T" --.I- - -- -T-- -7- . :. *.. f z -4- The resulting Image was transferred to glass which was used as a mask through which ultra-violet light was beamed on- to'a photo-sensitive film on the silicon disc. After a photo- development step, the disc was washed with hydroflouric acid which accomplished the flnal etching. The disc itself is fragile and wlll be transported by the astronauts in an aluminum capsule and will remain in the capsule on the lunar surface. The words on the disc, although not visible to the naked eye, will remain readable through a microscope. Following are the statements of the four Presidents: -more- -5- PRESIDENTIAL STATEMENTS-- 'I.. .The Cocgress hereby declares that it is the polj.cy of the Unit.ed States that activities In space should be de- voted to peaceful purposes for the benefit of all mankind ..." National Aeronautics and Space Act of1958 Signed by Presiderrt Dwight D. Eisenhower July 29, 1958 "...We go into space because whatever mankind must under- take, free men must fully share. .....I believe that tnis Nation should cormit Itse1.f to achicving the goal .before this decade is out, of landing a man on the mcon and returning him safely to earth. No single sp~ceproject in this period will be more c.xci%.ing, or more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of' space;11 and none wlll be so diffi- cult or expensive to accomplish.. President John F. Kennedy May 25, 1961 ".. .We expect to explore the moon, not juzt visit it or photograph it. We plsn to explore and cha-t planets as well. We shall expand our earth laboratories into space laboratories and extend our national strength into the space dimension. The purpose of the American people -- expressed in the earliest days of the Space Age -- remains unchanged and unwavering. We are determined that space shall be an avenue toward peace and we both invice and welcome all men to joirr with us in this great opportunity. .'I President, Lyndon B. Johnson January 27, 1965 -:nor e - "I . ---- - 1- - -.- . - --- - T-- - -- Y - ----r-- --I- * I. If I - .;it., c r .-. .- * -6- "...Our current exploration of space mqkes the point vividly: Here is testimony to man's vision and to manls courage., The journey of the astronauts is more than a tech- nical achievement; it is a reaching-out of the human spirit. It lifts our sights; it demonstrates that magnificent concep- tions can be made real. They inspire us and at the same time they teach us true humility. What could bring home to us more the limitations of the human scale than the hauntingly beauti- ful picture of our earth seen from the moon? ...t? President Richard M. Nlxon June 4, 1969 -more- ETCHED ON AFOLLO 11 DISC THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES John "W. McCormack., Speaker Carl Albert Gerald R. Ford Hale Boggs Leslie C. Arends Corm1 t t t? e on S c i eri ce and A :; t ron auti cs George P. Miller., Chairman Olin E. 'reague James G. Fulton Joseph E. Karth Char LC~S A. Mosher Ken Hechler Richard L. Roudebush Emilio Q. Daddario Alphonzo Bell John W. Davis Thomas M. Pelly Thomas. N. Downing John W. Wydler Joe D. Waggonner, Jr. Guy lander Jagt Don Fuqua Larry Winn, Jr. George. E. Brown, <Jr. Jerry L. Pettis Earle Cahell Donald E. Lukens Bertram L. Podell Robert Price Wayne N. Aspinall Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. Roy A. Taylor Louis Frey , Jr. Henry lie 1.5tosltl Eal-ry Goldwater, Jr . Mario Uiaggi James W. Symlngton Edward I. Koch Cornmi t tee on- __ALI~~ ropriat i ons George 11. IYidion, Chai rniati Frank 'I'. How Subconurii ttee OII- Ttldcpe!ldt>rit-__-- Of fi ces and Ucpartment of Ifouc; i ny arid Ilrba3n Development Joe L. Evins, Chairlnan Edward P. Boland Ct;ar*les E. Jonas George E. Shiple3 Louis C. Wyman N. P.ur't L. Talcntt Robert Gi.aimo Joseph M. McT'.-.ucLde John 0. Marsh, Jr. L)avj d 1:. ['ry:)r -more - ,,--. .,__ ....... .. ... .. ETCHED ON APOLLO 11 DISC THE UNITEIj STATES SENATE , Spiro T, Agnew President of the Senate Richard B. Russell, President pro tempore Michael J. Mansfield Everett McKinley Dirksen Edward M. Kennedy Hugh Scott Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences Clinton P. Anderson, Chairman Richard B. Russell Margaret Chase Smith Warren G. Magnuson Carl T. Curtis Stuart Symington Mark 0. Hatfield John Stennis Barry Goldwater Stephen M. Young Charles McC. Mathias, Jr. Thomas J. Dodd William B. Saxbe Howard W. Cannon Spessard L. Holland Committee on Appropriations Richard B. Russell, Chairman Milton R. Young Subcommittee on Independent Offices and Department of Housing and Urban Development John 0. Pastore, Chairman Warren G. Magnuson Gordon Allott Allen J. Ellender Margaret Chase Smith Richard B. Russell Roman L. Hruska Spesssard L. Holland Norris Cotton John Stennis Clifford P. Case Michael J. Mansfield -more- -*,. &:a. ' _.,"...F - . ,...-.--., ,.. L.>.... .. / r .. 4. NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS T. Keith Glennan Administrator 1958-1961 Hugh L. Dryden Deputy Administrator 1958-1965 James E. .Webb ., Administrator 1961-1968 Robert C. Seamans, Jr. Deputy Administrator 1966-1967 ***************** Thomas 0. Paine Administrator Homer E. Newel1 Associate Administrator Willis H. Shapley Associate Deputy Administrator George E. Mueller Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight John E.. Naugle Associate Administrator for Space Science and Applications Bruce T. Lundin Associate Administrator for Advanced ,Research and Technology (Acting) Gerald M. Truszynski Associate Administrator for Tracking and Data Acquisition Lt. Gen. Samuel C. Phillips Apollo Program Ijirector Robert R. Gilruth Director, Manned Spacecraft Center Wernher von Braun Director, George C. Marshail Space Flight Center Kurt H. Debus Director, Kennedy Space Center John F. Clark Director, Goddard Space Flight Center Dr. William H. Picltering Erector, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Robert L. Krieger Director, Wallops Station Edgar M. Cortright Director, Langley Research Center Abe Silverstein Director, Lewis Research Center -more- c ,- -10- Hans M. Mark Director, Ames Research Center James C. Elms Director, Electronics Research Center Paul F. Bikle Pi re c t or Flight Resear c h Cente r -more-