posted 04-09-2003 03:42 PM               

I’ve been reading Deke Slayton’s book and started to ponder how I would have paired up the men who walked on the moon, and which mission I would have assigned them to. Here’s my list.

Apollo 11
Gene Cernan and Alan Bean

Both of these men have been so great at communicating what it was like to walk on the moon. We could all get signed copies of the “First Man on the Moon” at a reasonable price! Alan Bean’s paintings would be hanging in the Smithsonian. And I don’t think Alan would have had a problem with being number two.

Apollo 12
Pete Conrad and Jim Lovell

Talk about a fun duo on the Moon! Pete belonged on this mission. Jim sure deserved to walk on the moon and he did such a fine job repairing A13 that he might have been able to fix that darn TV camera. This just might have helped keep people interested in Apollo a bit longer.

Apollo 13
Charlie Duke and Jim Irwin

With the spiritual power between these two godly men the command module would have never acted up! They would have gone on to land at Frau Maura, and with their youth, would have been able to climb any crater they chose. I imagine that one day the first church to be built on the moon would have been located at this site.

Apollo 14
Alan Shepard and Gordon Cooper

Now this would have been an exciting mission! With A13 having landed at Frau Maura these guys would go on to Hadley. I believe I would have added Gordo at the last minute, much to the surprise of Shepard who in reality bumped Gordo from his chance to moonwalk. I can just see the two of them getting into a brawl deciding who would drive the rover. But, what a joy it would be to see two of the old Mercury guys driving around the most scenic part of the moon! I’m sure Alan would have liked driving more than pulling that cart!

Apollo 15
Buzz Aldrin and Edgar Mitchell

These two guys with their mensan brains would have figured out that the Descartes part of the moon was not worth visiting and would have changed the flight plan and landed in the Tycho crater. Wow, what a trip that would have been!

Apollo 16
Dave Scott and Jack Schmitt

Jack belonged on this mission to Taurus Littrow, just like Conrad belonged on his. Dave Scott would fit in on any mission but maybe by changing to a different mission he wouldn’t have gotten into trouble with those covers.

Apollo 17
John Young and Neil Armstrong

I’d have assigned these two guys to a real challenging mission. Maybe the farside of the moon or one of the polar craters. Two reasons for this decision. For one, if anybody could have done it these guys would have been the ones. Second reason… to get back at them for making it so hard, and expensive, to get their autographs!

Apollo 18
Deke Slayton and Leoniv

Yeah… I figure with these “amended” crews and adventures the public would have demanded more!

Why not take a Russian to the moon rather than just shaking hands with him in orbit? Let Leoniv keep all the rocks he can pick up! First Vodka on the moon!

…With the great success of this mission NASA probably would have gone on and landed a Skylab on the moon as a base instead of an attraction at the Smithsonian…

Apollo 19
Gordon, Bean, and Conrad

These guys always dreamed of going to the surface together. The first group of guys to the new moon base would have no need of a rover so one of these guys would just be strapped to the outside of the LM descent stage during landing. What a trip that would be!

Apollo 20
Walter Cronkite, Arthur C Clarke, and Werner von Braun

Let Werner land the LM... He would have loved it! Strap Walter to the outside and let him give minute by minute coverage. And let Clarke just look out the window and dream up some more novels!

Apollo 21
Me and two of my closest friends.

AND then all the other Apollo astronauts who never got the chance… except Michael Collins, who didn’t really want to walk. He wanted Apollo 8. And that’s where I would have put him!

Noah

posted 04-09-2003 05:33 PM               

I`ll agree with you on that even though your always outbidding me.....on E-bay(Spatial One)

I think your selection for Apollo 17 is an excellent one...

I would have put Buzz Aldrin down as first man on the moon....enough said...

Regards,

posted 04-09-2003 07:53 PM               

Apollo 21 is already taken and I have the mission patch to prove it.

But there is always Apollo 22.

posted 04-10-2003 12:20 AM               

Your Apollo 14 crew choice would have been priceless.

Imagine Gordo Cooper messin with the Rover's "Gear Ratios" just as he did on Shepard's Vette.

Schirra would have stuck around NASA just to see that Gotcha!!!

LOL

posted 04-10-2003 04:32 AM               

So my hindsight choice for the crew of Apollo 11 is:-
CDR John Glenn
LMP Gene Cernan
CMP Pete Conrad

posted 04-10-2003 07:47 AM               

First, he was unfairly robbed. Had he not been grounded Deke's rotation gave him a great shot at going to the moon. He did the right thing by 'going public' with his space sickness, but I think NASA over-reacted. Although we still lack a first-hand book about what went on up there I've never heard it suggested that he compromised the mission.

Secondly he's an intellectually curious, funny, expressive guy who talks about the human experience of space flight better than almost any other Apollo astronaut I've heard. His description at the Reno reunion of gazing at the earth when he was '"unemployed in space" for five minutes truly bought the moment to life for me.
I wonder what stories he would have bought back from the moon?

So if we're deep in the daydream world I'd like to pair up the two men who expressed the wonder of walking in space best and send them to walk on the moon.

Apollo 15 and a half - Ed White and Rusty Schweickart. Anywhere with a good view.

posted 04-11-2003 07:32 AM               

I've never heard or read anything from Ed White and Rusty Schweickart about their experiences in space. Anyone know where I can access these comments?

Noah