Explore Float

Moon Museum 1969

by Frosty Myers, 1941

The Moon Museum was the brainchild of Frosty Myers, whom we know from The Wall. It is a tiny ceramic wafer, three-quarters of an inch by half an inch, that contains drawings by six artists, including Andy Warhol and Frosty himself. Frosty wanted to create the first museum in space by securing this small—but art-filled—piece somewhere in the 1969 Apollo 12 mission. NASA wasn’t responsive to Frosty’s proposal, but he was able to find an engineer who supported the idea and smuggled the wafer onto the lander module and would therefore be left on the moon. Two days before takeoff, Frosty received a telex (which was like a text message back in 1969) with the message “All systems go,” which was code for success. It remains the first and only museum in space.

Timeline

1969 Frosty Myers creates Moon Museum
1969 Smuggled on the moon, making it first art piece in space

Reference Links

link Forrest Myers Official Website
article Featured video Play Video Play Video Royal family Can wedding boost monarchy's popularity? Play Video Play Video Charlie Sheen Actor seeks custody of twins. More: Video Apollo 12 art caper: Does the moon harbor a tiny museum?
internal Moon Museum - Wiki
internal gDoc

Talking Points

  • 1969
  • Forrest ‘Frosty’ Myers thought that if the US makes it to the moon there ought to be a museum
  • tried to get in touch with NASA, no response
  • found engineer in upstate, agreed to smuggle a small ceramic chip on board
  • Chamberlain, Navros, Oldenburg, Rauschenberg, Warhol, Myers
  • receives telex: “all systems go”
  • PBS History Detectives episode on the plates

Location