Apollo 11 Apollo 11. The initial crew assignment of Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot (CMP) Jim Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) Buzz Aldrin on the backup crew for Apollo 9 was officially announced on November 20, 1967. Lovell and Aldrin had previously flown together as the crew of Gemini 12. Due to design and manufacturing delays in the LM, Apollo 8 and Apollo 9 swapped prime and backup crews, and Armstrong's crew became the backup for Apollo 8. Based on the normal crew rotation scheme, Armstrong was then expected to command Apollo 11. There would be one change. Michael Collins,
Cyprus lunar sample displays Cyprus lunar sample displays The Cyprus lunar sample displays are part of two commemorative plaques consisting of tiny fragments of moon specimens brought back with the Apollo 11 and Apollo 17 lunar missions. These plaques were given to the people of the Republic of Cyprus by United States President Richard Nixon as goodwill gifts. The Cyprus Apollo 11 lunar sample display commemorative podium plaque consists of four rice-sized particle specimens of Moon rock that were collected by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969 and a small flag. The four Moon rocks weigh about 0.05 grams in