Malta lunar sample displays in Gozo, Malta. Malta lunar sample displays The Malta lunar sample displays are two commemorative plaques consisting of small fragments of moon specimen brought back with the Apollo 11 and Apollo 17 lunar missions and were given to the people of Malta by United States President Richard Nixon as goodwill gifts. The Malta 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 Maltese flag that was taken to the moon and back on Apollo 11.
Neil Armstrong LLRV training, NASA began lunar landing simulator training after Apollo 10 was completed. Aldrin and Armstrong trained for a variety of scenarios that could develop during a real lunar landing. They also received briefings from geologists at NASA. When they made a geological expedition to a moon-like area in the mountains of west Texas, the press found out and crowded the area with cars and a helicopter, making it hard for the astronauts to hear the geologist who'd accompanied them. After Armstrong served as backup commander for Apollo 8, Slayton offered him the post of commander of Apollo 11 on