Amy Bean, daughter of Moonwalker Alan Bean is a Navy veteran and recognized business leader. Using the lessons learned from Growing Up Apollo and the wisdom passed down from her Astronaut father this Moonwalker Daughter inspires young people and helps organizations reach for their own stars.
The Choice of a Happy Isolation
Today the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting all of us. As individuals we react differently to the crisis based on our location, our fears, and our daily challenges. I was raised by parents who were positive thinkers who were used to operating in an environment of risk and uncertainty. They passed on this resilient, optimistic mindset…
A Tribute to Al Worden
A special man died last week, Astronaut Al Worden (February 7,1932-March 18, 2020). Colonel Worden came to NASA with the 5th group of Astronauts in 1966. He was the Command Module Pilot (CMP) for the Apollo 15 mission to the moon, and due to the standard rotation of the flight crews he also served as backup to Apollo 12’s Dick…
Headed for the Last Parking Lot
Painting Completed 1982, 14 x 20 inches, Acrylic on Masonite. Image and Story Copyrighted by Alan Bean. All rights reserved. Gene Cernan is saying his last farewell to the lunar roving vehicle. He and Jack Schmitt have just completed offloading all the rock and soil samples and put them inside the lunar module ascent stage…
Eulogy for My Brother, Clay Arnold Bean
Clay Arnold Bean December 18, 1955-December 6, 2019. The Bean Family 1975, standing left to right, Alan, Sue, Grandfather Edward Ragsdale, Clay, Grandmother Floy Mae Ragsdale, Amy-Houston Backyard. Memorial Service for Clay Arnold Bean, February 17, 2020. Mom, Sue, and son, Clay, July 1956. The following is a copy of the Eulogy I gave for…
A Father’s Day Post: The Apollo 12 Coolest Things about an Astronaut Dad
Astronaut Dad Alan Bean, Amy, and Clay Bean Astronaut Dad Gene Cernan and Tracy Cernan Number 1: His Corvette’s Bumper Sticker Legitimately States “My Other Vehicle Is A Rocket Ship.” Number 2: An Astronaut Dad Never Complains When You drive Over The Speed Limit, Unless You Pull More Than 3 Gs. Number 3: When Your iPhone Goes…
Eulogy For My Father
My mother and children at the reception following Dad’s service. From left to right, James Mellin, Sue Bean, Victoria Mellin, Amy Bean, Cameron Mellin. Dad’s Memorial Service was held on June 29, 2018, at The Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston, Texas. It was a beautiful, honorable remembrance of a beloved husband, father, and friend.…
Dad and Do-nuts
Apollo 12 Astronaut, Alan Bean at home with 6 year old daughter, Amy. Artist, Astronaut and Father Alan Bean in his Houston studio Sunday morning, May 1970, Apollo 12 had flown to the moon and returned to earth 6 months earlier. Dad bent down to tighten the strap on my helmet. Climbing on the motorcycle,…
Fear has no place here.
“Planting Our Colors” Painting Completed 2007 “A Window on the End of an Era”, Painting Completed 2010 Far and away the number one question I am asked as the daughter of an Astronaut is “Were you scared when your father walked on the moon?” The answer is “no, not at all.” Certainly I had every…
An Astronaut’s Journey by Alan Bean
Click to Read the Story Behind the Painting...
An Astronaut’s Journey
Painting Completed 2003, 14″x 21″, Textured Acrylic with Moondust on Aircraft Plywood
Apollo 17 Lunar Module Pilot Harrison ‘Jack” Schmitt is off in search of another important rock.
Jack was a talented geologist who was sent for flight training with the Air Force after being selected as an astronaut. Rather than the other way around as it was for most of us. Since getting to the Moon and back would be the biggest challenge, seasoned military test pilots were the first choice as Apollo crew members. This approach was working well since the procedures and the techniques honed flying high-performance airplanes were the fundamental building blocks of the skills needed for controlling and operating a spaceship.
Once on the Moon, it was a different matter. Moonwalkers needed to select and collect rocks and dirt samples, deploy experiments, and make technical observations about the strange world around us. So NASA gave us pilot types extensive training as geologists. We invested much time and effort: classroom lectures, laboratory study, and field trips to the sites on earth that our instructor thought would most nearly represent what we might find on the Moon. By the time we walked on the Moon, we were all pretty good geologists, but not as good as Jack. Because of this, a very vocal segment of the scientific community kept shouting that we needed to send a bona fide geologist/pilot, not a pilot/geologist like all of us who had flown before.
Jack flew a great mission. His in-flight performance as a geologist/pilot was equal to that of any pilot/geologist perhaps because the commander did all the flying. In turn, I believe his contribution on the moon as a geologist/pilot was no greater than any pilot/geologist, perhaps because the time constraints made collecting samples much more important than making specific, detailed scientific observations. There seems to be at least two career trajectories that will create a competent lunar module pilot.
