Apollo 11 Space Mission & Miller Dial
The Apollo 11 space flight landed the first humans on Earth's Moon on July 20, 1969. The mission, carried out by the United States, is considered a major accomplishment in human exploration and represented a victory by the U.S. in the Cold War Space Race with the Soviet Union.
Many of the leading manufacturers of the time were contracted to fabricate components for the mission. Miller Dial was contracted to manufacture around 100 lunar plaques. These plaques were made out of stainless steel and were 9" x 7 5/8".
The plaque was attached to the ladder on the descent stages of the lunar module. The remainder went to pivotal people who contributed to the Apollo mission and were given out as mementos to foreign governments through various United States Embassies immediately after the flight.
All of the plaques bear facsimiles of the participating astronauts' signatures. The Apollo 11 plaque bears a facsimile of the signature of President Richard Nixon.
Interesting Facts About the Plaque:
- Pat Buchanan worked on drafting the plaque.
- The Apollo 11 plaque left on the Moon says, "Here Men From The Planet Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We Came in Peace For All Mankind."
