How the DOMINICAN FLAG and a MESSAGE FROM BALAGUER reached the MOON

In 1969, the first human spacecraft, Apollo 11, landed on the moon and brought with it the flag of the Dominican Republic. The astronauts also left some pieces of lunar soil, which were later delivered to the Dominican Republic. In addition, they left a message from Joaquín Balaguer, in which he explains the meaning of the flag and the pieces of lunar soil delivered to the Dominican Republic. This video also introduces North VPN, a service that provides online privacy protection.

In 1970, the flag of the Dominican Republic, enclosed in a transparent acrylic window, was presented to the people of the Dominican Republic. The flag is inscribed in English with the name of the country. It was taken to the Moon by the Apollo 11 mission and returned by the Apollo 17 mission. The Apollo 17 crew brought a fragment of the moon’s surface to Earth. Three years later, the process was repeated with the Venezuelan flag included. If this would be the last time humans would go to the moon, it would be the last time the Dominican flag would fly there, as documents from the NASA Cargos database indicate that the package of flags (including the Dominican flag) did not arrive . the surface of the Moon, but remained in orbit around the Moon aboard the Manned Space Flight module America. During the Apollo 17 mission, flags were also collected while astronauts orbited the moon. One of them, basalt moonstone number 70-017, was specifically chosen to present to dignitaries, such as the president of France, when it was collected on Earth in 1973. It was cut into small pieces and coated with acrylic to do so. It seemed larger, and was mounted on a plaque with the flags that accompanied the mission.
According to the video, the Dominican flag and a message from Balaguer reached the moon (a fact that has largely been forgotten). Together with the Dominican people, I feel obliged to send my best wishes to the NASA team for their latest space achievement, which will reach its full potential in the field of space exploration in the United States. Joaquín Balaguer, the first Dominican president, pictured signing the decree. Apparently, a copy of the album was given to each of the signatories. Here we see the flag of the Prime Minister of Japan, as well as the flags of the United States, Japan and the Dominican Republic. Apparently, under US law, rocks collected on the moon are property of the US, but under another law, once given to a country as a diplomatic gift, they become the property of that country’s people. country. Legal ownership of rocks is subjective, and has been interpreted by many political and diplomatic figures as allowing them to keep the rocks personally. As we see in the small images of the flags, delivered to various countries and states, some missing or stolen, the value of a piece of lunar material is based more on the cost of transportation than on weight.
The Dominican Republic, unlike many other countries, has taken good care of its moon stones and flags, displaying them at the National Museum of Natural History in Santo Domingo. Especially notable is the fact that only two Dominican flags reached the Moon, while thousands of American flags were sent on NASA trips.

Although the presence of the Dominican flag on the Moon may seem insignificant compared to the greatest space feats, its representation in an event of such magnitude has a special meaning for the country. The flag and the moonstones are tangible testimonies of the Dominican Republic’s participation in a historic achievement for all humanity.