Lunar rock sample collected 50 years ago is in Cyprus

A lunar sample collected 50 years ago during the United States Apollo 17 mission in December 1972 is now in Cyprus, the US Embassy in Nicosia has announced.

According to a post of the US Embassy on its Facebook account, "this piece of extraterrestrial history will be on public display December 8-10 and December 14-15 at the Cyprus Space Exploration Organisation - CSEO “Apollo to Artemis” exhibition at CSEO Discovery Alpha in Nicosia".

Meanwhile, a CSEO press release says that to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the last of the Apollo Missions – Apollo 17, but also to celebrate the first Artemis Mission – Artemis 1 – that is currently flying in orbit around the Moon, the Cyprus Space Exploration Organisation (CSEO) supported by the US Embassy is organizing a week-long set of activities in Nicosia, center-pieced by the “Apollo to Artemis” Exhibition.

It adds that on 11 December 1972, the final mission of NASA's Apollo program, landed on the Moon with the last humans to set foot on the Moon. The “Apollo to Artemis” exhibition tells the story of Apollo 17 through the lenses of the astronauts themselves. Each astronaut’s spacesuit had a personal camera which enabled Apollo 17 to be the most photographed moon mission yet.

The exhibition will offer a look at the current Artemis program and the future of lunar and deep space exploration.

The exhibition opens on Thursday 8th December and will run until Sunday the 18th of December. It will be complemented by a series of events and activities looking at humanity’s relationship with the Moon and how our societies and cultures have been impacted by it, the CSEO press release says.

The exhibition is hosted at CSEO Discovery Alpha, which is located at the heart of Nicosia, on Plateia Dimarchias.

As part of the activities, there will be a cultural night named “Selenolethos”, documentary showings and a bi-communal activity titled “Under one Sky: Message to the Moon” where the public can create messages of hope, cooperation and peace, which will be submitted to NASA to be sent to the Moon.

The full program is available at: www.space.cy/apollo2artemis The week’s activities are supported by the US Embassy and the Municipality of Nicosia. Admission to all activities is free.