ALAN BEAN
Captain Conrad Unloading the Alsep

Our primary objective for the first moonwalk was to unload and deploy the Apollo lunar surface experiment package (alsep). These six experiments were stowed during flight inside a large compartment on the back side of the lunar module. For ease of unstowing and carrying to the deployment site the experiments were mounted on one pallet. Their radioisotope thermoelectric generator was mounted on a second. Both fully loaded packages were fragile, bulky, and relatively heavy – 420 earth pounds, 70 moon pounds.

As the lunar module rested on the surface the alsep storage compartment was above normal shoulder height. Because of our limited dexterity in the space suit a system was designed to unlock and move each package horizontally out of the storage compartment using one strap and then using a second strap lower it to the ground.

I have painted Pete tugging on the black and white strap that was connected to a ratchet mechanism at the end of a short boom that allowed Pete to carefully lower the experiments package. A few seconds earlier Pete had used the white strap in his left glove to pull the boom with the rachet and the experiment package out of the storage compartment.

The system operated perfectly but as Pete said, “the first thing we noted was that as soon as we put the packages down on the surface, they began to accumulate dust.” It was kind of ironic since during tests with the actual flight equipment here on earth we all had to wear dust-free white suits and gloves inside a super clean room.

ALAN BEAN
Fun is Wherever You Can Find It

Some of my favorite memories of my two moonwalks on Apollo 12 are of just having fun.  Sure, every minute on the surface was carefully planned prior to launch, and yes, we had our minds filled with important scientific and engineering concerns and procedures. But, there were just so many strange and wonderful things about this unfamiliar new world. For example, with the moon having only one-sixth the pull of gravity of the earth and also having no atmosphere to slow down moving objects I couldn’t resist seeing how far I could throw an occasional rock or two.

Near the end of our last moonwalk, as I was recovering our solar wind collector, I passed a large piece of discarded aluminum foil insulation. There it was . . . a temptation too shiney to resist. I said, “Pete, I’m going to see how far I can throw this piece of foil.” Pete called back, “wait a minute. I want to watch.”

Now, on earth throwing foil isn’t all that much fun to watch. The foil will flutter and land only a few feet away.  But not on the airless moon, where it will move as quickly as if it had been crushed in a tight ball.

As Pete turned to watch I gave the foil my strongest heave. Up, up, up it went, slowly turning over and over. Parts of the foil were flashing in the bright sunlight as it got smaller and smaller . . . Higher and farther away than the best athlete could kick a football on earth.

But now to get back to real scheduled work. Pete and I had to pack up and climb back inside the lunar module with our treasure of experiments and moon rocks. We were still a long way from home.

ALAN BEAN
Jack Schmitt Skis the Sculptured Hills

Is Jack Schmitt really skiing on the moon? We can see he is turning his upper body and knees and leaning as we do down here on earth. Let’s listen to the downlink conversation back in December of 1972:
            Jack at 167:07:20: “Too bad I don’t have my skis“.
Jack at 167:07:39: “Shhh…shhh…shhh…whoo!... Can’t keep my edges...                   Shhhh…shhhoomp….little hard to get a good hip rotation”.
It was fun to watch him on their downlink television because Jack used all the best techniques. He unloaded his boots and moved his body as a veteran skier would, but he didn’t seem to slide across the surface much on his rubber soled moon boots.

I asked him about this when I was painting this motif and he said, “future moon skiers would be wise to strap some teflon skis over their moon boots”.

Harrison “Jack” Schmitt was often affectionately referred to as “Dr. Rock” by his Apollo 17 crewmates Gene Cernan, and Ron Evans. Dr. Rock was a highly skilled and dedicated professional geologist with a doctorate from Harvard. NASA sent him to air force flight training and he became an excellent pilot. All the rest of us who walked on the moon were professional test pilots that NASA trained to be geologists.

In my opinion Jack was a great astronaut. His superior performance as the lunar module pilot of Apollo 17 may have proven that it is just as effective to make a competent pilot out of a skilled geologist as to train a skilled pilot to become a competent geologist.

ALAN BEAN
A Jewel in the Heavens

Over the years since I changed my profession from NASA astronaut to space artist, I have created several paintings of the Earth. I enjoyed doing so because it brought back vivid memories of the always amazing sight of our unique blue and white planet floating in the shiney blackness of space.

Our Earth was by far the most beautiful object I saw during my Apollo 12 mission, in November of 1969. The 10-day mission was filled with so many incredible treats for the eyes, views that I had thought about for many years and at last was experiencing, first hand.

Not a singe image was a disappointment. Each view out our small spacecraft windows and the vast panoramas I saw through my gold visor as I stood and moved about on the Moon was grander and more memorable than i was able to imagine. Perhaps that is why humans have a need to explore....To enlarge what we can imagine.

I liked my Earth planetscapes as I painted each and thought they accurately replicated what I saw with my own astronaut eyes. With the passing of the 37 years since the Apollo 12 mission, my astronaut-eyes have gradually been replaced with artist-eyes. I now see the Earth in my mind's eye as much brighter than recorded by our camera and film. As a result of this time passing and the changes in thinking and feeling, I paint the Earth more boldly colorful now....More like a bright and incomparable jewel in the heavens. And just think - we get to live our whole lives on that beauty!