UNITED NATIONS: Apollo 11’s astronauts are taking a special printed postcard from the United Nations to the Moon on Secretary General U Thant’s request. It was announced today [July 16].

Astronaut Neil Armstrong will place it on the moon’s surface when he steps down from the lunar module on Monday morning. It will be left there as a “symbol of faith in the ideal of the United Nations Charter”.

On one side, the card bears part of the world body’s Charter. The other side is covered with seven stamps celebrating the aspirations and realisations of the UN.

Mr Thant wrote to the Chief of the American delegation at the UN, Mr Charles Yost, asking him to arrange for the astronauts to take the card on their historic mission.

Mr Thant said that the card carried with it the United Nation’s best wishes for the safety of the astronauts both on their voyage to the Moon, and on the return trip.

The American delegation to the UN told Mr Thant, who is recovering from a recent operation, that the card was safely aboard Apollo 11. It did not say whether the card would be buried in the Moon’s soil or symbolically placed on the surface. — Agency

[Meanwhile, as reported by an agency in Stockholm,] Swedish televiewers will be awakened to the “happy cry of a cuckoo” early on Monday morning to watch the US Moon landing.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2019