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
The Reluctant Astronaut 1998 autobiography, the infamous "Apollo 1" fire led to Universal Pictures being skeptical about releasing a comedy on space travel so soon after the tragedy. Not as popular as his first film ventures, "The Incredible Mr. Limpet" (1964) and "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" (1966), due to its connection to the Apollo program, "The Reluctant Astronaut" still was a popular children's film and was frequently shown on weekend afternoons. Knotts was nominated for the 1967 Golden Laurel Male Comedy Performance Award for his role in "The Reluctant Astronaut". For the benefits in publicity for their programs, NASA also named Knotts,