After Apollo 11 in 1969, President Nixon had 250 commemorative plaques made, each containing about 50 milligrams of lunar dust — roughly four rice-sized particles — mounted in acrylic plastic alongside the recipient nation's flag, which had traveled to the moon and back. All 135 countries received one, as did all 50 US states. Spain's was given to Francisco Franco.
After Apollo 17 in 1973, Nixon sent a second round: fragments of lunar basalt 70017, the "Goodwill rock," about 1.14 grams each, sealed in acrylic lucite. Spain's Apollo 17 sample was delivered by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to Spanish Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco. His family eventually donated it to the Naval Museum in Madrid, where it remains on display.
The Apollo 11 sample went missing. According to Spanish newspaper El Mundo, Franco's grandson Francisco Franco Martínez Bordiú said the sample had been kept in Franco's office at El Pardo Palace. He said his mother lost the display after Franco's death in 1975. Its whereabouts are unknown.
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