Country of Origin: United States of America
Dimensions:
Overall: 7 1/4 in. long x 5 3/4 in. wide x 1/8 in. tall (18.42 x 14.6 x 0.3cm)
Materials:
Aluminum
This is a replica of the plaque that Belgian artist, Paul Van Hoeydonck, made commemorating the fourteen U.S. astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts that had died prior to the launch of Apollo 15. The original plaque, along with a small statue of a man, were left without publicity on the Moon by the Apollo 15 astronauts in August 1971. This replica was given to the Smithsonian Institution on April 17, 1972, the day after CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite revealed, during the broadcast of the Apollo 16 launch, the existence of the "fallen astronaut" and plaque as the first art on the Moon.
Gift of Paul Van Hoeydonck
