Canada lunar sample displays the landing of Apollo 17 on the Moon, which was memorialised by astronauts Eugene A. Cernan and Harrison H. Schmitt when they talked directly to the "youth ambassadors" from the surface of the Moon. Matthews was able to see astronaut Neil Armstrong personally at the luxury hotel in Orlando, Florida. He also got quite acquainted with Armstrong's daughter and became lifetime pen pals with her. The program directors promised each "youth ambassador" a lunar sample from the Apollo 17 mission. In 1973 Matthews was sent the Canadian "goodwill moon rock" encased in a clear Lucite ball about the size of
Larry Taylor (geochemist) of Washington, and finally a Fulbright Fellowship at the Max-Planck-Institüt für Kernphysik in Heidelberg, Germany. In December of 1972, Taylor was offered to be in the “back room” of Johnson Space Center during the Apollo 17 mission where he had the opportunity to directly advise astronauts on their extravehicular activities on the Moon. Subsequently, Taylor became very close friends with Harrison Schmitt, the last man to step on the lunar surface and the sole geologist to ever reach the Moon. The two would collaborate throughout their careers with Schmitt playing an influential role in helping Taylor develop the Department of