A note left on the Moon

Jack Kinzler ran the Technical Services Division at NASA's centre in Houston. When the question came up of what Apollo 11 should leave on the Moon, he arrived with two ideas, a plaque and a flag. With his assistant chief, David McCraw, he made the first prototype of the plaque.

The finished plaque was stainless steel, nine by seven and five-eighths inches, slightly curved, and fixed to the front landing leg of the lunar module Eagle. It shows the Earth's two hemispheres and the words "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon, July 1969, A. D. We came in peace for all mankind", with the signatures of the three astronauts and President Richard Nixon. It was fitted only hours before launch, with the lunar module already on top of the Saturn V.

During the moonwalk Neil Armstrong read it aloud for the people at home: "First there's two hemispheres, one showing each of the two hemispheres of the Earth." He added that it carried the crew's signatures and the signature of the President of the United States.

When the astronauts left, Eagle's descent stage stayed behind with the plaque on it, creating, in the words of the National Air and Space Museum, a permanent memorial on that spot. The descent stage can still be seen in pictures from lunar orbit. The image here is NASA's photograph of a replica, taken before the flight.