Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Monday 28 May 2018
Astronaut and moonwalker Alan Bean dies at 86

By JOCELYN GECKER
Associated Press
Former Apollo 12 astronaut
Alan Bean, who was the
fourth man to walk on the
moon and later turned to
painting to chronicle the
moon landings on canvas,
has died. He was 86.
Bean was the lunar module
pilot for the second moon
landing mission in No-
vember 1969. He spent 31
hours on the moon during
two moonwalks, deploy-
ing surface experiments
with commander Charles
Conrad and collecting 75
pounds (34 kilograms) of
rocks and lunar soil for study
back on Earth, according
to a statement from NASA
and Bean’s family that an-
nounced his death.
Bean died Saturday in
Houston, Texas, following a
short illness, the statement
said.
“As all great explorers
are, Alan was a boundary
pusher,” NASA Administra-
tor Jim Bridenstine said in
a statement that credited
Bean with being part of 11 In this Oct. 1, 2008, file photo, Alan Bean, the fourth man to walk on the moon, is shown during a preview of his work at the Lyndon
world records in the areas Baines Johnson Library and Museum in Austin, Texas.
of space and aeronautics. Associated Press
“We will remember him statement, adding that the 24.4 million miles, setting a learn to be, so that ap- achievement as a paint-
fondly as the great explorer wide array of lunar samples world record at the time. pealed to me.” er.”
who reached out to em- Bean helped collect from Born March 15, 1932, in Bean retired from NASA in Many fellow space explor-
brace the universe.” the moon was “a scientific Wheeler, Texas, Bean re- 1981 and devoted much ers posted tributes to Bean
With Bean’s passing, only gift that keeps on giving to- ceived a Bachelor of Sci- of his time to creating an on Twitter.
four of 12 Apollo moon- day and in the future.” ence degree in aeronauti- artistic record of space ex- Retired U.S. astronaut Scott
walkers are still alive — Buzz In 1998 NASA oral history, cal engineering from the ploration. Kelly said the world had not
Aldrin, Dave Scott, Charlie Bean recalled his excite- University of Texas in 1955. His Apollo-themed paint- only lost “a spaceflight pio-
Duke and Harrison Schmitt. ment at preparing to fly to He attended the Navy Test ings feature canvases tex- neer ... but also an excep-
Schmitt, the lunar module the moon. Pilot School and was one tured with lunar boot prints tional artist that brought his
pilot for Apollo 17, was one “When you’re getting of 14 trainees selected by and embedded with small experience back to Earth
of many astronauts who ready to go to the moon, NASA for its third group of pieces of his moon dust- to share with the world.”
mourned Bean’s death every day’s like Christmas astronauts in October 1963. stained mission patches. Kelly added: “Fair winds
and paid tribute Saturday and your birthday rolled “I’d always wanted to be “Alan Bean was the most and following seas, Cap-
to his accomplishments into one. I mean, can you a pilot, ever since I could extraordinary person I ever tain.”
that blazed trails for future think of anything better?” remember,” Bean said in met,” astronaut Mike Mas- U.S. astronaut Karen Ny-
space exploration. Bean said. the 1998 NASA oral history. simino, who flew on two berg called Bean a kind,
“His enthusiasm about After Apollo, Bean com- “I think a lot of it just had space shuttle missions to gracious and humble man
space and art never manded the second to do with it looked excit- service the Hubble Space and a true role model.
waned. Alan Bean is one of crewed flight to the United ing. It looked like brave Telescope, said in a state- “As a girl who grew up with
the great renaissance men States’ first space station, people did that. I wanted ment. “He was a one-of- passions for spaceflight
of his generation — engi- Skylab, in 1973. On that mis- to be brave, even though a-kind combination of and art, Alan Bean was my
neer, fighter pilot, astronaut sion, he orbited the Earth I wasn’t brave at the time. technical achievement as hero,” she wrote. “I feel for-
and artist,” Schmitt said in a for 59 days and traveled I thought maybe I could an astronaut and artistic tunate to have met him.”
Retired astronaut Clayton
Anderson tweeted “#RIP
Alan Bean. Thank you for
letting me stand upon your
shoulders.”
Bean’s wife of 40 years,
Leslie Bean, said in a state-
ment that Bean died
peacefully at Houston
Methodist Memorial Hos-
pital surrounded by those
who loved him.q