Astronaut was fourth man to walk on the moon
Pilot who spent 31 hours on the moon’s surface dies at age 86
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 November 1969. He spent 31 hours on the moon during two moonwalks, deploying 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 announced 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 Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement that credited Bean with being part of 11 world records in the areas of space and aeronautics. “We will remember him fondly as the great explorer who reached out to embrace the universe.”
With Bean’s passing, only four of 12 Apollo moonwalkers are still alive - Buzz Aldrin, Dave Scott, Charlie Duke and Harrison Schmitt.
Schmitt, the lunar module pilot for Apollo 17, was one of many astronauts who mourned Bean’s death and paid tribute Saturday to his accomplishments that blazed trails for future space exploration.
“His enthusiasm about space and art never waned. Alan Bean is one of the great renaissance men of his generation — engineer, fighter pilot, astronaut and artist,” Schmitt said in a statement, adding that the wide array of lunar samples Bean helped collect from the moon was “a scientific gift that keeps on giving today and in the future.”
In 1998 NASA oral history, Bean recalled his excitement at preparing to fly to the moon.
“When you’re getting ready to go to the moon, every day’s like Christmas and your birthday rolled into one. I mean, can you think of anything better?” Bean said.
After Apollo, Bean commanded the second crewed flight to the United States’ first space station, Skylab, in 1973. On that mission, he orbited the Earth for 59 days and travelled 24.4 million miles, setting a world record at the time.
Born March 15, 1932, in Wheeler, Texas, Bean received a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Texas in 1955.
He attended the Navy Test Pilot School and was one of 14 trainees selected by NASA for its third group of astronauts in October 1963.