DENVER, Colorado — Fifty years after the moon landing, a Colorado state flag that traveled with Neil Armstrong on the Apollo 11 mission is on display in its home state.
History Colorado revealed the flag along with a collection of moon rocks on Saturday.
Armstrong’s family put the flag up for auction where it was then purchased by the museum using the Executive Director’s Innovation Fund.
History Colorado told 9NEWS that it didn’t know why Armstrong chose to bring the flag with him on the mission.
“It suggests that there was something meaningful about Colorado and he wanted to take it with him and bring it back to be able to tell people that this flag had been in space,” Jason Hanson, chief creative officer for History Colorado said.
At only six inches by four inches, the silk Colorado flag is the right size for a trip to space but still required intention.
“On a space capsule there’s not a lot of personal storage, so he had to think long and hard about everything he was packing,” Hanson said.
The astronauts also returned to earth with 47.5 pounds of moon rocks and dust.
According to Hanson, “President Nixon had them mounted and distributed to the states as gifts.”
The Colorado State Capital loaned the samples to History Colorado for the display.
History Colorado estimates the rocks are “anywhere between 3 and 4.5 billion years old.”
“The moon rocks are priceless,” Hanson said.
Now, people can see them at History Colorado for the price of general admission through September 2.
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