50 Years Ago: Apollo 12 One Month from LaunchOct. 16, 2019
(...) Apollo 11 astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, accompanied by their wives Janet, Patricia, and Joan, respectively, continued their Presidential Giantstep goodwill world tour. Kicking off the tour in Mexico City on Sept. 29, by mid-October they had visited three other countries in Latin America, took a two-day rest break in the Canary Islands, and continued on to see 10 European nations. Then they were off to the African and Asian part of the tour. At each stop, heads of state and other dignitaries greeted the astronauts and cheering crowds welcomed them as they rode through the streets in motorcades. A Presidential jet ferried them and their NASA and State Department entourage from city to city.
Apollo 11 astronauts (left to right) Collins, Aldrin, and Armstrong wearing sombreros during the parade in Mexico City.Apollo 11 astronauts accompanied by their wives during an audience with Pope Paul VI in Vatican City – (left to right) the Collinses, the Pope, the Armstrongs, and the Aldrins.https://www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-apollo-12-one-month-from-launch50 Years Ago: Apollo 12 Three Weeks Until LaunchOct. 24, 2019
In Kinshasa, DRC, President Mobutu presents the Apollo 11 astronauts’ wives (left to right) Joan Aldrin, Patricia Collins, and Janet Armstrong with the Order of Zaire medals.Dancers perform for the Apollo 11 astronauts and their wives in Bangkok, Thailand.(...) Meanwhile, halfway around the world, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, accompanied by their wives Janet, Patricia, and Joan, respectively, continued their Presidential Giantstep goodwill world tour. By the latter part of October, they had visited four Latin American countries and wrapped up the European portion of the tour in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Next followed stops in Ankara, Turkey; Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); Tehran, Iran; Bombay (now Mumbai), India; Dacca, East Pakistan (now Dhaka, Bangladesh); and Bangkok, Thailand. From there, they were off to Australia, Guam, and east Asia, before finally returning to the United States. At each stop, heads of state and other dignitaries greeted the astronauts while cheering crowds welcomed them as they rode through the streets in motorcades. A Presidential jet ferried them and their NASA and State Department entourage from city to city.
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-apollo-12-three-weeks-until-launch50 Years Ago: Two Weeks to go Until Apollo 12Oct. 31, 2019
(...) A fragment of a Moon rock returned by the Apollo 11 astronauts went on public display outside the MSC auditorium on Oct. 29, only the second such sample accessible to the public after the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., unveiled the first one in September. The 31-gram fine-grained crystalline fragment measuring 1.25 by 1 by 0.75 inches contained a large number of vesicles lined with highly reflective crystals.
Apollo 11 astronauts and their wives arriving at the Sydney, Australia, airport.Apollo 11 astronauts and their wives arriving in Agana, Guam.Halfway around the world, Apollo 11 astronauts and their wives Neil and Janet Armstrong, Michael and Patricia Collins, and Buzz and Joan Aldrin, accompanied by their NASA and State Department entourage, neared the end of their Presidential Giantstep goodwill world tour. Leaving Bangkok, Thailand, they stopped briefly in Perth, Australia, to refuel their Presidential jet before continuing on to Sydney. From there they continued to Agana (now Hagåtña), Guam; Seoul, Republic of Korea; Tokyo, Japan; and finally returned back to the United States. At each stop, heads of state and other dignitaries greeted the astronauts while cheering crowds welcomed them as they rode through the streets in motorcades.
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-two-weeks-to-go-until-apollo-12