Netherlands lunar sample displays Netherlands lunar sample displays The Netherlands lunar sample displays are two commemorative plaques consisting of small fragments of moon specimens brought back with the Apollo 11 and Apollo 17 Moon missions and given to the people of the Netherlands by United States President Richard Nixon as goodwill gifts. The Netherlands Apollo 11 lunar sample display commemorative podium style plaque consists of four "moon rock" rice size particle specimens that were collected by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969 and a small Netherland country flag that was taken to the Moon and back. The four "Moon rocks"
Buzz Aldrin Pilot as the first to step onto the lunar surface. However, when Aldrin learned that this might be amended, he lobbied within NASA for the original procedure to be followed. Multiple factors contributed to the final decision, including the physical positioning of the astronauts within the compact lunar lander, which made it easier for Armstrong to be the first to exit the spacecraft. Furthermore, there was little support for Aldrin's views among other senior astronauts who would command later Apollo missions, and who may have been the first to make a lunar landing had Apollo 11 failed. Collins has commented