In 1969, a tiny ceramic wafer containing artwork by Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, and others was reportedly smuggled aboard Apollo 12. The Moon Museum is a tiny ceramic wafer (less than an inch in size) containing artwork by six prominent artists of the 1960s:
The story behind this secret art mission is just as compelling as the art itself. When sculptor Forrest "Frosty" Myers tried to get NASA's official approval, he hit bureaucratic roadblocks. As Myers explained to PBS's History Detectives, "They never said 'no'. I just couldn't get them to say anything."
Undeterred, Myers connected with scientists at Bell Laboratories through a non-profit called Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.). Using telephone circuit production techniques, they etched the artists' drawings onto ceramic wafers. About 16-20 copies were made — with one destined for space.
The most provocative piece might be Andy Warhol's contribution. Myers told History Detectives that "Andy Warhol decided that he would do his signature, which was an 'A' and a 'W'," but from a certain angle it looked like a piece of anatomy. "And he was being oh, the terrible, bad boy," Myers added.
The other works include a single minimalist line from Rauschenberg, circuit-like drawings from Novros and Chamberlain, Oldenburg's signature Mickey Mouse, and Myers' own "interconnection" symbol.
The fascinating part is how they managed to get the art onto the lunar lander. Fred Waldhauer, one of the Bell Labs engineers, knew someone at Grumman Aircraft who was working on the lunar module. Myers explained, "And this guy immediately said, 'Yeah, I can do this'." Just before launch, Myers received confirmation via telegram: "You're on. A-OK. All systems are go," signed mysteriously as "John F."
Richard Kupczyk, who was the launch pad foreman at Grumman, later revealed to History Detectives that engineers often hid personal items in the spacecraft: "There are small personal items that the fellas put in between the blankets of the spacecraft," adding, "On Apollo 12 there are some things that are on that spacecraft that are laying on the lunar surface right now."
When asked if a chip like the Moon Museum could be on the moon, Kupczyk responded, "It's not only possible, but at this point in time, I'd say it's, well, my gut feel is it's there."
Previously:
• Tiny art museum on the moon?
• Secret museum on the moon's surface
• Museum's 'moon rock' is just a rock
• Buzz Aldrin's moon landing jacket is up for auction
• Smithsonian launches online Apollo 11 high-res 3D spacecraft model for moon landing's 47th anniversary
• The scientific secrets inside a single grain of moon dust
• In 1949, the British Interplanetary Society designed a far-out spacesuit. Recently, a museum had it made for real.
