Who are the 8 astronauts who pioneered trips to the Moon who are still alive – 01/15/2024 – Science

The 24 NASA astronauts who traveled to the Moon on the Apollo missions in the 1960s and 1970s are considered the pioneers of lunar exploration.

More than 65 years later, the American space agency intensifies its efforts to place its researchers on the lunar surface once again.

NASA was due to launch Artemis 2, its first manned lunar expedition in more than 50 years, in November. But plans had to be postponed and the agency announced that the launch should not take place before September 2025.

In the announcement made last Tuesday (9), NASA chief Bill Nelson said that the first manned landing, originally planned for 2025 as part of Artemis 3, will now be launched in September 2026 at the earliest.

China also plans to send astronauts to the lunar surface by 2030.

All of these efforts highlight the sad fact that the number of Apollo astronauts still alive is dwindling.

Ken Mattingly and Frank Borman, two participants in the program, died just days apart at the end of last year.

There are only eight people left who have traveled beyond Earth’s orbit. Who are they and what are their stories?

Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11)

On July 21, 1969, former fighter pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin abandoned his lunar landing craft and became the second person to set foot on the lunar surface.

Almost 20 minutes earlier, its commander, Neil Armstrong, became the first to achieve this feat.

Aldrin’s first words were: “Nice view.”

“Isn’t that extraordinary?” asked Armstrong. “Magnificent view here.”

“Magnificent devastation,” replied Aldrin.

Being second never really pleased him. His crewmate Michael Collins said that Aldrin “resented not being first on the Moon more than he appreciated being second.”

But still Aldrin was proud of his achievement. Many years later, when confronted by a man who claimed Apollo 11 was a hoax, Aldrin, aged 72, punched him in the jaw.

And after Neil Armstrong’s death in 2012, Aldrin said, “I know that many millions of people around the world join me in mourning the passing of a true American hero and the greatest pilot I ever knew.”

Despite the problems he faced later in life, Buzz Aldrin never lost his thirst for adventure and participated in expeditions to the North and South Pole, the latter at the age of 86.

Although he embraces his celebrity status, he remains an advocate for the space program, especially the need to explore Mars.

“I don’t think we should just go there and come back; we did that with Apollo,” he says.

Furthermore, his name became known among new generations as inspiration for the creation of Buzz Lightyear, a character from the animated film series Toy Story.

In January 2023, at age 93, he married for the fourth time.

Bill Anders (Apollo 8)

In December 1968, Bill Anders flew on Apollo 8, the first mission in which humans traveled beyond low-Earth orbit and the first manned flight to reach and orbit the Moon.

When the spacecraft emerged from behind the Moon to cross its face for the fourth time, the crew witnessed an “Earthrise” for the first time in human history, and Anders captured the moment on camera.

He was the first to capture a color photograph of Earth taken from space.

The image is widely credited with sparking the global environmental movement and leading to the creation of Earth Day, an annual event to promote environmental activism and awareness about caring for the planet.

“We came here to explore the Moon, and the most important thing we discovered was the Earth,” Anders said when talking about that moment.

After retiring from the space program in 1969, Anders worked extensively in the aerospace industry for several decades.

He also served as the United States ambassador to Norway for a year in the 1970s.

Charles Duke (Apollo 16)

There are only four people left alive who actually walked on the Moon: Charlie Duke is one of them. He did so at age 36, becoming the youngest person to set foot on the lunar surface.

In a later interview with the BBC, he spoke of the “spectacular terrain”.

“The beauty of it… the stark contrast between the darkness of space and the horizon of the Moon… I’ll never forget it. It was so dramatic.”

But he had already played another important role in NASA’s exploration of the Moon.

After Apollo 11 landed in 1969, it was Duke, at the control center, who waited on the other end of the line until Neil Armstrong said, “Houston, this says Tranquility Base. The Eagle has landed.”

Duke replied, “Understood, Tranquility. We copied you here on Earth, there’s a lot of guys about to turn blue, but we’re breathing again.”

“I was serious, I was holding my breath at the last minute,” he told the BBC.

In 2022, Duke told the BBC he was excited about NASA’s Artemis mission, but warned it wouldn’t be easy for the new generation of astronauts.

“They chose the vicinity of the South Pole for the landing, because if there were ice on the Moon, it would be in that region. It will be difficult, because it is very difficult down there. But we will make it.”

Charlie Duke now lives outside San Antonio, Texas, with Dorothy, to whom he has been married for 60 years.

Fred Haise (Apollo 13)

Fred Haise was part of the Apollo 13 crew that narrowly escaped disaster in 1970 after an explosion on board caused the mission to be aborted when the spacecraft was more than 200,000 miles from Earth.

The entire world watched as NASA tried to bring the damaged spacecraft and its crew back safely.

Back on Earth, Haise and his crewmates James Lovell and Jack Swigert became, to their surprise, celebrities.

“I feel like maybe I missed something while I was there,” he told talk show host Johnny Carson when the team was interviewed on American television program The Tonight Show.

Haise never reached the Moon. Although he was confirmed as commander of Apollo 19, the mission was canceled due to budget cuts, as were all other flights after Apollo 17.

He later was a test pilot for the prototype space shuttle Enterprise.

Like many of his Apollo program colleagues, after leaving NASA, Haise continued working in the aerospace industry until his retirement.

James Lovell (Apollo 8, Apollo 13)

Lovell, Borman and Anders made history when they participated in the first lunar mission on Apollo 8, testing the Command/Service Module and its life support systems in preparation for the subsequent Apollo 11 landing.

In fact, their spacecraft made 10 orbits around the Moon before returning home.

Lovell was then supposed to be the fifth human to walk on the lunar surface as commander of Apollo 13, but this never happened.

Instead, the story of the accident involving the mission was immortalized in the film Apollo 13in which he was played by Tom Hanks.

After his retirement from NASA in 1973, Lovell worked in the telecommunications industry.

Marilyn, his wife of more than 60 years who became the center of media attention during the incident, died in August 2023.

Jim Lovell is one of three men to have traveled to the Moon twice, and after Frank Borman’s death in November 2023, he became the oldest living astronaut.

Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17)

Unlike most astronauts of the time, Schmitt did not serve in the United States Air Force.

A geologist and academic, he initially instructed NASA astronauts on what to look for during their lunar geological journeys before becoming a scientist-astronaut in 1965.

Schmitt was part of the last manned mission to the Moon, Apollo 17, alongside commander Eugene Cernan, one of the last two men to set foot on the lunar surface, in December 1972.

After leaving NASA in 1975, he was elected to the United States Senate from his home state of New Mexico, but served only one term.

Since then, he has worked as a consultant in various sectors, as well as continuing in academia.

He is also known for speaking out against the scientific consensus on climate change.

David Scott (Apollo 15)

David Scott, commander of Apollo 15, is one of four living men to have walked on the Moon, but he was also one of the first to drive on it.

In 1971, Scott and his crewmate James Irwin tested the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), a device that was responsible for putting “man’s first wheels on the Moon.”

Traveling at speeds of up to 12 km/h, the LRV allowed astronauts to travel great distances much faster than if they had walked.

“On a first mission you never know if it’s going to work,” he recalled. “The biggest thrill was pulling it out, turning it on and making it actually work.”

After returning from the Moon, Scott held several management positions at NASA, before entering the private sector.

He has also served as a consultant on several film and television projects, including Apollo 13 and the HBO miniseries From The Earth To The Moon.

Thomas Stafford (Apollo 10)

As commander of Apollo 10 in May 1969, Tom Stafford led the program’s final test mission before the planned landing of Apollo 11.

On that mission, Stafford and pilot Eugene Cernan became the first crew to take the lunar module out of Earth’s orbit.

Shortly after his return, Stafford was named head of the Astronaut Office, a position he held for nearly two years.

In 1975, he was the NASA commander of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project flight, the first joint space mission between the United States and the then Soviet Union (USSR), precursor to the International Space Station.

His Soviet counterpart, Alexey Leonov, became a lifelong friend.

Together, they staged the all-important handshake in orbit, something that would have been unimaginable at the height of the space race.

And now? What will be the achievements of the next generation of lunar adventurers?