attached to the descent module, and items to be taken to the Moon and back to Earth. For items to be left on the Moon, the committee considered several options, including leaving the UN flag, a United States flag, a set of miniature flags of all nations, and another commemorative marker on the surface. The committee solicited suggestions from the Smithsonian Institution, the Library of Congress, the Archivist of the United States, the NASA Historical Advisory Committee, the Space Council, and congressional committees. The most common proposal among those solicited was to plant a flag. The committee recommended planting the U.S. flag on the Moon. They also recommended installing a plaque onto the lunar module (LM) descent stage (which would be left on the Moon) bearing the inscription: "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind." Some Americans anticipated possible controversy over planting the United States flag on the Moon, since the Outer Space Treaty prohibited territorial claims to any extraterrestrial body. Since it was made clear the United States had no intention of making a territorial claim to the Moon, no serious controversy materialized. Four months after the Apollo 11 landing, the United States Congress passed a bill in November 1969, which was signed into law by President Nixon, stating: Design About three months prior to the July 1969 Apollo 11 mission, Robert Gilruth, director of the MSC and a member of the Committee on Symbolic Activities, still needed to select someone to design the flag assembly. He asked Jack Kinzler, head of technical services at MSC, also known as "Mr. Fix It", to take on the task. Inspired by the memory of his mother hanging curtains during his childhood, Kinzler came up with the idea of inserting a horizontal pole through a hemmed pocket in the top of the flag to support it. This would make it appear to fly on the airless Moon as it would float in the wind on Earth. He worked out the details over several days, assisted by Deputy Division Chief Dave McCraw. Kinzler also suggested, designed, and oversaw the creation of the commemorative plaques affixed to the Apollo Lunar Modules. Though the flag itself was a simple, government supply nylon flag altered only by sewing the top hem, its packaging, tolerance of environmental conditions, and means of deployment