The Moon Rock’s Brief Stint in the White House Oval Office

In 1972, two NASA astronauts brought a piece of the Moon back to Earth, which had been sitting in the White House Oval Office for the past four years as a symbol of America’s lunar ambitions. However, after Donald Trump took office, the Moon rock was replaced by an urn, reportedly as the new administration sets its sights on Mars.

Recent Images Reveal the Moon Rock’s Removal

Recent images of the Oval Office revealed that the Apollo Moon rock had been removed from its display on a shelf to the left of Trump’s desk as part of the president’s redesign of the White House. This change was first reported by collectSpace.

Trump’s Inaugural Speech and NASA’s Ongoing Efforts

Trump vowed to plant the American flag on Mars during his inaugural speech on January 20, overlooking NASA’s ongoing efforts to land astronauts on the Moon by 2027. The Moon rock display was returned to NASA after its four-year stint at the White House, a spokesperson for the agency told collectSpace in an email.

The Removal of the Moon Rock: A Sign of the Administration’s Shift in Priorities?

It is unclear whether the removal of the Moon rock has something to do with the current administration’s spaceflight plans. The Oval Office gets a redesign each time a new president assumes position. Trump also brought back a bust of Winston Churchill and flags of the military services, items that had been removed by former President Joe Biden.

NASA’s Challenges in Navigating Trump’s Executive Orders

Since Trump assumed office, NASA has been having difficulty navigating through the different executive orders issued by the new president. During his inaugural speech, Trump didn’t mention the Moon, while highlighting "launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars."

The Moon-to-Mars Approach: A Persistent NASA Vow

NASA has persistently vowed for a Moon-to-Mars approach, using the lunar surface as a testbed for landing astronauts on the Red Planet sometime in the 2030s. Rocket billionaire and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, on the other hand, has advocated for a more aggressive approach that targets a Mars touchdown right off the bat.

The Implications of Trump’s Oval Office Decor

Trump’s new decor of the Oval Office could reflect the president’s Mars-bias, chucking the lunar rock out of the White House. The rocky sample has already traveled thousands of miles from the Moon to Earth, so a trip back to Houston isn’t a big deal, but a return to the lunar surface is the real point of debate.

A Call for More Information

We reached out to the White House and the White House Historical Association for more details but did not receive a response by the time of publication.