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Author
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Topic: Remembering James Irwin on his birthday
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Blackarrow
Member Posts: 3120
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 03-17-2009 07:05 PM
  
Let us remember one of the men who went to the moon almost 40 years ago. James Irwin was born on St Patrick's Day in 1930 and landed on the Moon on 30 July 1971, with Dave Scott, where they explored Hadley Rille and the foothills of the Apennine mountains in the first lunar rover.Jim Irwin would have been 79 today (March 17, 2009). Let's make sure we remember his name as a new generation of explorers venture beyond Earth. |
KSCartist
Member Posts: 2896
From: Titusville, FL USA
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 03-17-2009 07:10 PM
I had the pleasure of hosting a talk by Jim Irwin in April 1991 in my hometown of East Hartford, Connecticut.He was a warm and gracious man who prayed with my daughter, wife and I before the talk. He also generously presented me with a signed photo of his tanding on the Moon. The memories created that day will stay with me forever. |
astro-nut
Member Posts: 946
From: Washington, IL
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 03-18-2009 02:54 PM
I never met Jim Irwin, but I do have over 12 letters that Jim wrote to me when I was in the military. He and I corresponded monthly for awhile and I still have all the letters. I would have loved to have met this man and listen to him talk. Jim, I miss you. |
robsouth
Member Posts: 769
From: West Midlands, UK
Registered: Jun 2005
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posted 03-18-2009 04:53 PM
I'm sure that one day they will name a school on the moon after him! |
Blackarrow
Member Posts: 3120
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 03-18-2009 07:21 PM
In case any of the younger collectSPACE members think that the summer of 1971 is a very long time ago, let me take you back to the rim of Spur Crater on Dave Scott's and Jim Irwin's second EVA. In a few minutes they will discover the famous "Genesis rock" but first, as Scott aligns the TV antenna, Irwin notices that his feet have scuffed up some unusual soil. It looks GREEN to him. Is it an optical illusion caused by the gold visor of his space-helmet? If you have the Spacecraft Films' Apollo 15 DVD set, do yourself a favour and listen to the dialogue as Scott and Irwin debate whether the soil really is green. I guarantee it will bring a smile to your face! When the sample was returned to Earth, it was found to contain tiny green glass spheres. Now jump forward 37 years. In July, 2008, Jim Irwin's green glass spheres were found to contain traces of water. This was the first time water had been detected in any Apollo samples. Not a bad legacy for an explorer. |
dwmzmm
Member Posts: 82
From: Katy, TX USA
Registered: Dec 2006
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posted 03-18-2009 09:16 PM
Traces of water? That's news to me. Seems like somewhere during that period there was a news bulletin on TV indicating that one or more of the instruments left on the moon had detected traces of water on the moon. I don't recall what became of that revelation.By the way, Irwin (and Scott) were two of my favorite moonwalkers. Had the pleasure of watching ALL of their televised moonwalks since it was during summer 1971 (and school was out). |
alanh_7
Member Posts: 1252
From: Ajax, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Apr 2008
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posted 03-18-2009 09:38 PM
In November, I had a chance to talk with Dave Scott for a few minutes. He signed a panoramic shot Jim Irwin had taken of him near Hadley Rille. I mentioned to him how I seem to recall Apollo 15 (for me anyway) as the mission that stood out most in my mind (other than Apollo 11 of course) even though I was glued to the tv for all the missions.The first thing Dave Scott said to me was, "Just remember, there were two of us walking on the moon... Jim did an outstanding job in every way and we should not fore get that." Later when I approached Al Warden to sign the same photo, he also said "...there were three of us on that mission, Jim did a fantastic job." Both men made it clear what an outstanding job Jim Irwin did on the mission. |
derek
Member Posts: 297
From: N.Ireland.
Registered: Jul 2002
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posted 03-22-2009 10:14 AM
And, don't forget that Jim — who I met five times during his visits here — could trace his family back to Pomeroy in the province, not many here know that. Thanks to him and his comrades — my teenage-year heroes — I'm now no. 157 on the Virgin Galactic runway! |
Blackarrow
Member Posts: 3120
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 03-22-2009 01:45 PM
Well said, Derek. Jim Irwin's grandfather was born in Pomeroy, County Tyrone, about 70 miles up the road from where I'm typing these words. |
APG85
Member Posts: 306
From:
Registered: Jan 2008
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posted 03-25-2009 06:09 PM
I remember visiting my grandmother at a Lake in Denville, NJ while I was home on leave around 1987. She casually mentioned that an astronaut has visited the lake and was down on the beach one day a few weeks back. I instantly became alert and asked what his name was. She said she forgot but had a picture of him. I immediately recognized Jim Irwin standing on the beach of the lake I grew up on. I couldn't believe it! My grandmother was not impressed... |
Blackarrow
Member Posts: 3120
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 03-17-2015 07:02 PM
Apollo 15 lunar module pilot Jim Irwin was born on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 1930. He was the first moonwalker to die (on 8 August 1991). Had he lived, he would have been 85 today. I'm sorry he didn't live long enough to learn of the recent finding of water in the volcanic glass samples which he and Dave Scott brought back from Hadley Rille. Editor's note: Threads merged. |
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