"We choose to go to the moon." "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things... not because they are easy, but because they are hard." " Look at that." " That's beautiful." "This has gotta be one of the most proud moments of my life, I guarantee." "With a flight that lasted just 15 minutes..." "Alan Shepard became America's first astronaut." "In a parabolic suborbital arc... his tiny Mercury spacecraft climbed to an altitude of just 116 miles." "He experienced only about four minutes of zero gravity... couldn't see where he was going because there was no forward-facing window... and he splashed down just 302 miles from where he had started." "Those 15 minutes in the spring of 1961 were just a taste... of other longer flights America's first astronaut planned on making." "But as fate would have it, Alan Shepard would spend his next ten years... wondering if those 15 minutes were all he was allowed... in humankind's voyage from the Earth to the moon." "They should give you a manual for this thing." "Damn, son, where on earth did you get that thing?" " You're gettin' old, boy." " Stop messin' with that thing." "I ain't gonna take no picture." " Bud, take a picture for him." " I'm not gonna take a picture, I said." "Just take a picture." "I promised my boy." "They're probably gonna bring him nowhere near here." "No." "Mr. Taylor said that we could meet him." " Mr. Taylor told you that?" " Yes, he did." "He wouldn't lie." "If you ask me, Shepard's flight wasn't such a big deal, anyway." "Just a few more guys to meet and greet, then it's all business." " More hands to shake?" " You should be used to it by now." " Didn't orbit." " He's right about that." "It was just like that monkey." "Well, all I know is, he was first." "These gentlemen are our drillers." "Okey-dokey." "Hey, boys, how's it goin'?" " Mr. Taylor." " How are ya?" "Like for you to meet Alan B. Shepard, our first astronaut in space." "Commander Shepard, it's a pleasure." "It's Bud, sir." " Bud, how are ya?" " Honored to meet you, sir." " My boy thinks the world of you." " How are you?" "Good to meet you." "You boys are workin', huh?" " Yes, sir." " Hot one, eh?" " Good to meet you." " Good to meet you, sir." "Finally give you a chance to see what your money's buying... hopefully, oil." "Commander Shepard." "Is it true you're gonna command the first Gemini mission?" "Well, I'm sure whatever NASA's plans are, they'll be announcing them soon." "Maybe you'll be the first to the moon." "I'm the best pilot they got." "I wouldn't bet against him." " Could I get a picture with you?" " All right, guys." "No more questions." "The man did come here for a reason." "What is this test we're doing today?" "We have a logging crew to check for hydrocarbons in the well... which gives us a rough idea of its potential." "They have a probe they'll be lowering down to take a look at..." "You all right, Al?" "I'm all right." "Somebody get a doctor!" "Guess I'll have to learn to fly left-handed." "God, I wish we'd had this translational control on Mercury." " Now you got a real window." " Yeah." "Okay, here is the O2 high-rate recheck." "Whose job is that?" " I think that would be my function." " Yes, sir." "Good." " This is a beautiful craft." " Yes, sir." "I gotta go to the head." "Steppin' out, boys." "Need you to log out as usual." "That son of a bitch is like a sports car, isn't it?" "A little two-seater." "Yeah." "It's nice." " What's on your mind, Tom?" " You've been going to the head a lot." "I'm on a diuretic." " You're takin' medication?" " Yeah." "I've had a couple dizzy spells." "I think it's a viral infection in my ear." " Flight surgeons know?" " Yeah." "Wow." "Okay." "They sure it's a virus?" "Is there a chance they could ground you?" "I don't know yet." "I've got some tests I gotta do on Monday." "Just keep a lid on it until then, okay?" "I mean, it's just, you know, Deke doesn't want to split up the crews." " I know." " If you were out, I could be out." "I know." ""Flight surgeon's report." "Patient:" "Shepard, Alan B." "Date:" "June 10, 1963." "Symptoms:" "Hearing loss and ringing in right ear... occasional attacks of extreme nausea and vertigo." "Diagnosis:" "Excess fluid in inner ear caused by Meniere's disease." "Flight surgeon's recommendation:" "Immediate removal from active flight status for all NASA spacecraft."" "I'd like to start... by introducing the prime crew for the first manned Gemini flight... which will consist of Virgil I. Grissom, command pilot... and John W. Young, second pilot." "As many of you may have surmised... the big element in the choice of Gus Grissom... for the command pilot of the prime crew is, of course, the fact..." "Well, congratulations." " On what?" " On your new status." " I hear you can fly jets again." " With a copilot." "I never have trouble finding one." "These new guys all need stick time." "That's great." "Of course, they're not gonna let you and I fly together." " I asked 'em." " I know." "You heard what they said?" "Yeah. "Two half pilots don't make a whole one."" " You believe that?" " Oh, shit." "So you thought any more about the job?" "Yeah, I've been thinkin' about it." "Come on, Al." "Not that bad." "You get to be an arrogant son of a bitch and boss everybody around." "It's fun." "Yeah, well, that's why you're such a great boss, Deke." "Well, it wasn't exactly my first choice, you know?" "And if you recall, it wasn't exactly my idea, either." "Now you're paying me back?" "No." "I'm doing exactly what you did." "I see a need." "I know the right man for the job." "I go after him." "It so happens he's available." "We have high hopes of flying by the end of the year." "These are milestones that have to be satisfactorily met." "All right." "Come on." "You remember what it was like back in your day, the days of Mercury." "Anyway, I only answered one question." "The guy cornered me at my house." "This Houston Chronicle reporter cornered me." "What am I gonna tell him?" "That you don't talk to the press without your boss' approval, period." "You let us decide what's good for the program, Gene." "Even if he's just fact-checking a story?" "If you want to do a P.R. Thing, I'll be glad to take you out of the rotation." "We could use a P.R. Guy." "Jackie Gleason's a friend of mine." "We play golf." "Maybe I could get you on his show." "You could do a musical number with the June Taylor Dancers." "You'd like that?" "We could get you a pressure suit." "They could fly you in." " I'm enthusiastic about the program." " I know you're enthusiastic." "And we love that about you." "You haven't been here that long." "Am I right?" "You love to talk." "You have a problem with that, you know?" "You talk to the wrong people." "Didn't you get enough attention as a child?" " Stu." " This isn't the first time!" " I can come back." " Are you flying to the Cape Friday?" "Yeah." "Why?" "Let's go." "I'm good." "How are you?" "Okay, let me guess." ""Labyrinthine reactions indicated by nystagmus... accompanied by continued tinnitus... suggest abnormal endolymphatic fluid pressure... on the semicircular canal and cochlea."" "Got it?" "Your mother said to save the dog." "Dad, I hope you have a good time tonight." " I wish I could go." " You do?" "No, you don't." " It's not gonna be any fun." " I do, though." "Why would you want to go when I don't want to go?" "Picasso, you don't want to go, do you?" "Good night." " Want me to drive?" " No, I got it." "May 5, 1961, the beginning of a new era." "A. Bartlett Shepard's destiny was first recognized... in a secluded field not far from home." "Soon after, Alan B. Shepard, Jr." "Answered his country's call... and volunteered his talents as a naval aviator." "In this capacity he sallied forth... on mission after mission." "Onward to the fledgling space program, where only two had gone before... fellow pioneers into the unknown..." "Pam and Enos." "This would be his legacy." "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen." "I'm Deke Slayton, the only astronaut who's been in space... for less time than Alan Shepard." "Alan Shepard may only have flown in space for 15 minutes... but he's given this program seven years... of commitment and expertise." "And it gives me great pleasure to introduce... a great pilot and a great astronaut... and a good friend..." "Mr. Alan B. Shepard, Jr." "Okay, Al baby, you're on." " Schirra had nothing to do with this?" " I don't think." "Thank you all very much." " That's it, gentlemen." " All right." "Come on." "Come back." "There's still liquor." "The brass never walks away from free liquor." "In that case!" "Maybe one." "No, seriously..." "I want to say thank you for this." "It's..." "It's been an honor and a great privilege... to be able to serve my country working with all of you... and to further man's exploration of space." "It's..." "I wouldn't trade any of it for anything." "Thank you." "One thing I neglected to mention..." "Is he retiring?" "Not that I know of." "Why doesn't he?" "I mean, he's got all that money, and he's never gonna fly again." "I don't know." "Maybe he is." "That guy was drivin' me nuts." "I dumped it in Deke's lap." " Deke's gonna take care of it." " Your lunch is on time." "The board meeting's 3:00." "I got you the 5:00 tee time." " That's good." " Will you be in tomorrow?" " We'll see." " Tom would like a minute." " Hey, Tom." " How are you doin'?" " Walk with me to the car." " Yeah, sure." "Fred is now an ear, nose and throat man in Los Angeles." "On my last trip out, I looked him up." "He let me watch some surgeries." "We got to talkin', and he's pretty curious about your problem." "What's the latest with that?" "Tom, first off, thanks." "Believe me, I've been to my share of doctors with this thing." "The general consensus is that either it goes away on its own, or it doesn't." "I don't even feel the symptoms anymore, but every time I think I've beat it... some doctor tells me otherwise." "Has anybody suggested surgery?" "For Meniere's disease, there's no such thing." "What I do is I insert a small silicone tube right in the ear canal... and that drains off excess fluid into the spinal column." "And that works?" "I predict about a 60% chance of no future vertiginous episodes." "But I could lose my hearing?" "In the affected ear, yes." "Yeah, there's a small possibility." "Look, why don't you just take some time and think about it?" "If you have other questions, I'd be glad to answer them." "I know the medication is making you drowsy." "Okay." "Go ahead." "Okay, I want you to breathe normally and think of something pleasant." "A trip to Hawaii, perhaps." "You're doing just fine." "You don't have any idea who that is, do you?" "Him?" "Victor Poulos, according to his bracelet." "That is America's first astronaut." "Right." "I think I'd recognize John Glenn." "There are a number of steps that PINGS automates... that on an AGS abort must be performed manually... like pitching you over, switching the guidance systems... separating the stages and throttling up to 100%." "Now, of course, the AGS computer only has a fraction... of the PINGS's 39-kilobyte capacity." "Six K, I think." "Bruce, I think it's five." "Five." "Just enough to execute a manual abort if the PINGS fails." "I think we could land with it." "You'd have a tough time findin' the right place... without the T-GO guidance algorithm." "We could get close." "I've played with it in the simulator." "Sorry I'm late." "You're covering the guidance systems operations today, right?" " Yeah, that's what we're doing now." " Great." "Don't let me interrupt." "What's he doin' here?" "Let me get this straight." "Shepard marches into Deke's office and says, "Give me Apollo 13"?" "Somethin' like that." ""All right, Al." "Let's see." "You haven't flown in eight years." "You never orbited the Earth... never set foot in a Gemini or Apollo capsule, or never served as backup." "So why don't we make you the command pilot for the next lunar landing?" "Guess he just stayed at the top of the rotation this whole time, huh?" "Did you hear that they offered McDivitt a spot on Al's crew?" " What'd he say?" " Turned 'em down." "He told Deke he didn't think Shepard's ready." "Oh, man." "You don't have any problem flying with Shepard?" "Why should I?" "Flight surgeons don't have a problem." "Deke doesn't have a problem." "Do you?" " Take it easy." "I'm just askin' you." " I'm just answering' you." " Alan Shepard." " Mitchell makes a lot more sense." "He'll get Shepard up to speed on the LEM or cover for him." "But it's gonna be like havin' three rookies up there." "See you on the ground, Stu-ball." " Hey, boss, give us the good news." " We official?" "We've been bumped." "Headquarters did not approve us for 13." " I thought it was just a formality." " So did I until a couple of hours ago." "They don't think we've got enough time to train." "We got a year." "11's got seven months." " Same with 12." " They know that." "I told Deke that we'd be ready." "He says that he told them." "But they're giving it..." "They're giving it to Lovell, Mattingly and Haise." "You're kidding." "We still got a good shot at 14." "We'll know about that soon." "Did we do something wrong?" "They know how sharp you guys are." "We all know how sharp you guys are." "What're they worried about?" " Put yourself in their position." " I don't get it." "They've seen you train." "They're just being cautious." "How would it look if they gave me the flight, and something went wrong?" "I'm much younger than Alan Shepard, and I'm in excellent physical condition." "But there's been a lot of empire building going on, and politics." "I would've loved to head my own lunar flight." "But I'm not gonna compromise my belief that a man should be... fully dedicated to the program... beyond his own personal ambitions, that's all." "Boy, harsh words from a former colleague." " Well, that's Gordo." " Well, all right." "What we're tryin' to do here is a little tease." "We'll create a tease, a little piece of film we can put in the beginning." "Go into that it was a rough comeback... and it seemed like you wouldn't make it, and you finally did." "And I'm gonna try to think of a question that hopefully will lead you into that." " Hopefully." " Maybe I'll ask... something about Apollo 13, which at one point was going to be your mission." "And the same thing with Apollo 1, if you hadn't been grounded at the time." "So in retrospect, two incredible strokes of luck." "We'll just go into it, all right?" "Ask a question." "We'll see what happens." "We'll see what comes up naturally, okay?" "We rolling?" " I'm ready." " You ready?" "Two." "One." "As the launch date for Apollo 14 approaches..." "NASA reels from cutbacks and waning support." "America's first astronaut, Alan Shepard, now 47... prepares to become the oldest American to fly in space." "It's been a long road back to flight status for Al... made possible by an experimental ear surgery." "So tell me, given your medical history... limited space experience, would you have chosen yourself... to rescue the space program after the near-tragedy of Apollo 13?" "Well, Jules, I certainly feel more than up to the task." "I've had my ups and downs like everybody else." "But those problems are behind me now." "In fact, I'm in better physical condition than I've been in years." "Here we go." "Twenty seconds." "Guidance still up." "You have to remember that it's not just me going." " There's Edgar Mitchell..." " 13, 12, 11..." " Stu Roosa..." " 10, 9, 8... and thousands of people involved in the Apollo program." "...3, 2, 1, 0." "She's goin'." "Everything's good." "Beautiful." "Cabin pressure coming down." "Adjusting from sea level to a space environment." "Status check:" "Ignition controls coming up all green." "Communication has been a little dicey." "There has been some interference, though it's been consistent." "So I'm not concerned about it... if you guys aren't." "You know, what I find disconcerting is the delay... in the relay." "A constant reminder of how far we are from Earth." "We thought you might be interested in knowing', we have a Dr. House down here." "He'll be monitoring the progress of the mission for the next few minutes." "Good evening, William." "Glad to have you aboard." " Thanks." "Great to be here." " He's wavin' back at you." "Tell him I'm okay, Freddo." "I'm okay." "He rogers that." "Kitty Hawk, Houston." "You are go for undocking." "Roger, Houston." "Go for undocking." "And we're free." "Beautiful." "Very good." "Okay, we had a normal undocking, Houston." "Dead band minimum." "Verb-7-7." "Go to P-0-0." "Enter." "Okay." "Yaw left 60." "Pitch up 90." "Okay, starting left yaw, Stu." "Okay." "Boy, you look mighty pretty out there." "And starting to pitch up." " Flight, Control." " Rog." "We're gettin' an indication." "We're getting an abort command." "CAPCOM?" "Antares, the abort switch on the computer looks set." "Do you have a 1 in register one?" "That's affirmative, Houston." "Neither of you boys has your thumb on the abort button, do you?" "That's a negative, Houston." "All right." "We'd like to proceed to reset the abort signal." "Okay, give me the word." "Okay, we need the stop push button, push." "Stop push button, push." "The next thing's the abort push button, depress." "Wait one on reset." "Abort push button, depress." "Standing by on that one." "Okay." "You can reset." "Reset." "No change." "That didn't clear it, Flight." "Something had better before the descent burn." "Or the computer will initiate an auto-abort." "Suggestions?" "Have 'em tap on the panel." "Maybe it's a loose ball of solder behind that switch." "Let's do that." "Ed, we'd like you to tap on the panel around the abort push button." "See if we can shake somethin' loose." "Yes, Houston." "It just changed while I was tapping there." "Well, you sure tap nicely." "I'm good at that." "We'd just kind of like to sit here a minute and watch it." "I'm sure there's a way to lock that out." " Lock out the switch?" " Yeah." "Tell the computer... to ignore it." "I sure hope so." "We get that during the descent, this turns into a bad day." "I don't know how quickly they can come up with it." "What do you got?" "Flight, M.I.T.'s lookin' at a software work-around." "If we can't keep that switch from closing, we have to make sure... the guidance computer doesn't look at it and abort the landing." " You got that right." " We'll find the guy who wrote the code." "We got one orbit left to do this." "Don?" "Don!" "What?" "Somehow the abort discrete is set." "The one in channel 30?" "Write something to disable the switch so the computer ignores it." "It can't ignore it during the burn." "Right." "So the crew has to wait and enter our changes after ignition." "Can you get up?" "What, and then race through the keystrokes... hoping the switch doesn't close again?" "Okay, I need coffee." "I need Saltzman." "We gotta start from the beginning." "Houston, Antares." "L.P.D. Altitude shows 49,000." "Roger, Antares." "Okay, I have Cone Crater... triplet and doublet." "Copy that." "They look just like they're supposed to." "There they were, right below us, big as life." "Don't worry." "We're gonna see 'em again." "Freddo, I guess you'll advise us on that abort switch?" "Yes, I'm workin' on a little spiel right now." "Whatever fix they give us, I want time to get it entered before the burn." "If they're trying to lock out the switch we may have to wait till after the burn." " Why?" " It's part of P.D.I." "It's in the computer." "It'll look for it." "And if it closes then, it'll abort the landing." "Ed, you and Al ready to listen to words on the abort switch business?" " Go ahead with it." " Okay." "The procedure is Verb-2-5-Noun-0-7, Enter." "1-0-5, Enter." "4-0-0, Enter. 0, Enter." "I'll read back." ""Verb-2-5-Noun-0-7, Enter." "0-5, Enter."" "Is it "4-0-0-0, Enter"?" "Okay, Ed." "It's 400." "4-0-0, Enter." "That's 4-0-0." " Got it?" " We have to let the burn... call up normally, get ignition... then lock out the bit, hopefully before it gets set, right?" " That's affirmative." " That's a load." "No, they've got to come up with a better solution." "If not, I'll just have to haul ass punching it in and hope." "We don't want them rushing with this." "One wrong keystroke could cause any number of problems... all of them mission critical." "Can we just hold off?" "Just let us hold off until we come up with another fix." "No, I..." "All right." " What?" " They have to give the crew something... before they pass behind the moon." "We got 47 minutes to come up with something better." "Let's take it easy entering those changes." "Make sure they're right." "I will." "Now, if the switch closes before you're done... and it aborts us... there's nothing we can do, right?" "Let's see if we can't get ahead of ourselves on that checklist." "All right." "Guys, this is definitely the better fix." "If we set the program monitor to 71 before the burn... the computer is not even gonna look at the abort monitor... because it already thinks it's in the abort mode." "So there'll be a little bit of a cleanup on the descent... but they're not gonna be in a rush." "Antares, Houston." "Stand by, Houston." "Okay." "Helmet and gloves, on." "Cabin repress, closed." "Go ahead, Houston." "We've got more procedures to pump up that're gonna alter what you've copied." "We think we've found a little slicker way of doin' this... to make the computer ignore the abort command if the switch gets set again." "Okay." "Stand by, Houston." "All right." "Go ahead, Houston." ""Noun-6-2..." "Verb-2-1..." "Noun-0-1, Enter." "0-1-0-1, Enter." "1-0-1-0, Enter."" " That's it." " Okay, Houston." "It's in." "Roger, Antares." "And Antares, standing by for P.D.I. Go." "Antares, standing by." " Looks good here, Flight." "We're go." " Tell 'em." "Antares, Houston." "You are go for Fra Mauro." "Good show, Freddo." " You troops do nice work." " I'll second that." "Four, three, two, one." "Ignition." "We have auto-ignition." "Antares, you are go at four." "And guidance looks good." "Roger." "Down to 32,000 feet." "Should be getting landing radar very soon." "Come on, radar." "Let's have a lock-on." "Thirty thousand." "We got altitude and velocity lights." "Come on, radar." "We can land without radar if we have to..." "We'd have to pitch over anyway before we'd abort." "Let's just see where we are, right?" "If we can see our landing site..." "When we do pitch over, let's hope we are at 7,000 feet and not a lot lower." "Twenty thousand." "Flight, we need that radar by 10,000 feet if we're gonna land." "Houston, we still have altitude and velocity lights." "Come on, radar." "What you got?" "Flight, let's try resetting the landing radar circuit breaker." "Do it." "Antares, Houston." "We'd like you to cycle the landing radar breaker." "Copy that." "Okay, Houston." "It's cycled." "Copy." " Bingo!" " Okay." "Got it." "Okay." "Verb-57, Enter." "Houston, can we accept?" "Can we accept?" "Stand by, Antares." "Okay, we'd like to accept the radar." "Converge, proceed." "That was close." "And we have pitch-over, Houston." "Roger, Antares." " Outstanding." " Right on the money." "Here we go!" "Fat." "Fat as a goose." " That's beautiful." " 3,000 feet. 75 feet a second." "Okay, I'm going to move forward a little." "One thousand feet." "Right a little." "Looks good from here." "You're 500 feet." "Fuel is good at 10 percent." "You're at 170 feet." "Two feet per second down." "You're on your own." "Starting down." "It says 90 feet, 4 feet per second." "Five feet per second." "Sixty seconds of fuel remaining." "Three feet per second, thirty feet." "Looking great." "Twenty feet." "Contact, Al." "Okay, Houston." "We made it through the landing." " All right!" " I'm on the surface." "You did it, Al." "Wanna take a walk?" "Okay, Houston." "Let me comment that it is a stark place... here at Fra Mauro." "It's made all the more stark by the fact that the sky is completely black." " Roger." " Starting down the ladder, I can see... we have a tilt because we landed on a slope." "The landing gear struts appear to be about evenly depressed." "Okay, Al." "Beautiful." "I can see you on the surface." "Not bad for an old man." "It's been a long way, but we're here." "Okay." "Goes in very easy." "Take a picture this way, Ed." "And then we'll swing it around so they can see it on the television." "All right?" "Okay, Houston." "We're proceeding onward now..." "Stand by." "While you're looking that up, you might recognize what I have in my hand... as the handle for the contingency sample return." "It just so happens to have a genuine six-iron on the bottom of it." "In my hand, I have that white pellet familiar to millions of Americans." "I'll drop it down here." "This suit is so stiff, I can't do this with two hands." "But I'm gonna try a sand trap." " You got more dirt than ball that time." " More dirt than ball." "Here we go again." "There we go!" "Straight as a dive!" "Miles and miles and miles!" "Along with the physical demands made on those who fly into space... other more particular demands were made of the men who went to the moon." "They not only had to have the acumen of pilots and engineers... they also had to have knowledge and practice... as physicists, astronomers, geologists... and, if possible, as historians... and even poets and artists." "The reasons to demand such disciplines of the astronauts was simple..." "You will find no better record of what it is like to be on the moon... than in the experiences and recollections... of the men who went there." "If God is found in the details of our world... then the details must be discovered and interpreted... by the men who make the voyage... from the Earth to the moon." "Here's another one of the same stuff." "Why don't you get a sample of the soil." "Let me take a picture." " Okay." " Just scoop in between them." "Yes, sir." "I think this is a big frag here." "The part that it hit." "These pieces are roughly the same." "Not much soil here really." "There really isn't." "Is it your impression you're sampling on the ejecta blanket of spur crater now?" "Yeah, Joe." "Probably from the deepest part because we're on the rim." " Sounds good." " Would you agree with that, Jim?" "Yeah." "Okay, let's go down and..." " Get the unusual one?" " Get the unusual one." "There's another unusual one." "Look at the little crater here, the one that's facing us." "There is a little white corner to the thing." "Okay, Dave, get as many of those as you can." "You might be watching for a place where you think the rake might help you." "Yeah, I think we could probably do a rake here, Joe." "Okay." "Sounds like a good place." "There's a big boulder over there down sun of us... that I'm sure you can see, which is gray." "There's some very outstanding gray clasts and white clasts." "Oh, boy, it's a beaut." "We're gonna get ahold of that one in a minute." "Okay, I have my pictures, Dave." "Let's see." "What do you think the best way to sample it would be?" "I think probably to break up a piece of clod underneath it." "Or I guess you could probably lift that top fragment right off." "Let me try." "Yeah, sure can, and it's a white clast." "It's about..." "Oh, man." "Oh, boy." "I got..." " Look at that." " Look at that glint." "Oh, boy." " Almost see twinning in there." " Guess what we just found." "The xenolith is an aggregate of rocks... formed as slow-cooling crystals at great depth... and brought to the surface by impact or a volcanic eruption." "When silica content is low in plutonic magma... a cyanide-like rock is likely to be formed... thus producing a feldspathoid." "The third axis is minute." "A thorough examination of its twinning will confirm this is plagioclace... thus producing a feldspathoid." "Is this what you had to sit through for eight years?" "They're not all like this." "Low-silicon environments are perfect nurseries for nepheline, sodalite..." " hackmanite..." " No, that is not true." "I have nothing against Dr. Pemberton personally or any of his teachers." " It's just time to step things up." " Now the classroom time isn't enough?" "It's hard for me to get that approved." "We appreciate it, Deke." "I agree things are not perfect." " I think we have a good system in place." " You do?" "Yes, I do." "I think that the astronauts have to take some responsibility." "Your colleagues..." "no offense, Deke... are just pilots." "They're great pilots, the best in the world... but they don't have scientific minds." " So they're a lost cause?" " Let me back up." "Some of them show great promise." "But we haven't had a commander yet... who really took the lead in this area." "What's your idea, Jack?" "Find a teacher... who can bring out the scientific mind in all of them." "Professor?" "Professor Silver?" " Lee, you up there?" " Who's that down there?" "It's Jack Schmitt, Professor." " Jack Schmitt." " Yeah." "I had a student named Harrison Schmitt once." "Promising young field geologist." "Pity he didn't decide to pursue it." "Yeah, I know." "He got himself a little sidetracked." "Come on up here, Jack Schmitt." "Thank you." "Tell me, my little friend... where did you acquire such interesting garnet?" " What do you make of this?" " Granite." "Mm-hmm." "And the far side?" "Green grains." " Olivine?" " Which is unlikely." "But what a mystery to ponder, no?" "What a journey that little xenolith must have taken." "Professor, I've come to offer you a challenge." "Uh-oh." "I want you to help train the astronauts... to be field observers." "You must be desperate." "I'm not a lunar geologist." "Have they all resigned in protest?" "I realize that NASA hasn't been exactly popular within the scientific community." "True, although they did hire you, didn't they?" "Yes." "But what are they doing with you?" "I'm backup on the Apollo 15 crew... and I stand a decent shot at flying on Apollo 18, or so they tell me." "Congratulations." "Thank you." "Until Apollo 18, may I recommend robots for gathering samples?" "Cheaper, safer... and the good ones have very small egos." "My colleagues are serious." "They're motivated and very smart." "Now, we have people to teach them the moon." "What they need is to learn how to really see it." "You can give them that." "I'm flattered, Jack, but I already have a job." "Full-time." "I do wish you the best, though." "It's a real pleasure seeing you again." " Thanks." " Good luck." " But what if you found one of these?" " What?" "What if you taught an astronaut how to find one of these on the moon?" "What a journey that little rock would have taken." "Let me put it this way:" "Doing field geology... is like solving the mystery of the dead cat." "If you bring me a dead cat, all I can tell you is it's dead, and it's a cat." "But if you hand me a dead cat... and you tell me you found it in the middle of the road... ha... what killed it?" " Car?" " Truck?" "Heat exhaustion." "Now you're getting it." "Okay." "You find a dead cat in the kitchen of your favorite restaurant." " What killed it?" " The chef?" "What are we talking about here, Jack?" " Context." " Context?" "The difference between roadkill and a meal." "The Orocopias, gentlemen." "This is Disneyland to a field geologist." "Up here, it's all about context." "Jack, you've been through this before, so you need to keep quiet." "Jim, tell me about that." " What?" " Just start with what you see." " Granite." " Good." " Which is an igneous rock." " Right." "Now, what do you think would make it smooth like that?" " Water." " Could be." "Most likely." "But we don't really know yet." "Let's look around." "I don't see any granite here." "Not exposed, anyway." "So, do you think that rock came from here?" " No, I guess not." " Okay, toss him back to me." "Just a rock, the kind you'd kick without giving it a second glance." "Where did you come from, my little friend?" "Huh?" "Back this way." "Come on, Dave." "Don't worry." "I'll try not to waste your time." " I know you're busy men." " Come on, buddy." "Okay, this is a painting." "Not the Mona Lisa, but for us it's just as compelling." "There's a story here... about what happened to this area." " You recognize this, Jim?" " Granite again?" "Yup." "And where does granite get made?" "Down below, slowly." "Very slowly, like a big soup." "The kind my mother would make." "Which is why we didn't have many dinner guests in our home." "But gosh, if granite gets made way down below... how the heck did it get here?" "Uplift, and transported down the river wash." "The same kind of uplift that created the Rocky Mountains and Himalayas." "Now look at this." "More uplift." "Where did this come from?" "These layers, broken off... tilted in different directions." "This isn't the same kind of uplift... that created our granite here." "Not even close." "Something happened." "Something big." "You see the story yet?" "It's all pretty much here... in a language you can't yet understand, but it's here." "A tale of upheaval... and battles won and lost." "Gothic tales of sweeping change... peaceful times... and then great trauma again." "And it all connects to our little friend." "That's what we are, we geologists." "Storytellers... interpreters, actually." "That's what you gentlemen are going to become." "And how does this relate to the moon?" "From 240,000 miles away... you have to give... the most complete possible description of what you're seeing." "Not just which rocks you plan to bring back... but their context." "That and knowing which ones to pick up in the first place... is what might separate you guys from those little robots." "You know, the ones some jaded soul thinks should have your job." "You see, you have to become our eyes and ears... out there." "And for you to do that... you first have to learn the language... of this little rock here." "Ever since Galileo and his telescope... the moon has been getting closer and closer." "And now that men like yourselves are actually walking around up there... we're getting more familiar with its surface characteristics." "But we still haven't answered the big question." "How did it get up there?" "Maybe billions of years ago, just as the Earth was forming... a big blob of its original molten core... spun itself off as a kind of daughter planet." "Or maybe the moon is more like a sister... formed alongside the Earth... out of the same magical dust." "Or perhaps... a big old stray asteroid made the mistake... of wandering a bit too close to our gravitational influence... and doomed itself to circle us for all eternity... like some faithful dog." "Thanks to the data coming out of NASA over the last five years... we have some idea of the moon's age... and its chemical composition." "But as for its genesis... we're still in the dark." "Maybe Apollo 15 will shed some light." "Gentlemen, I must catch some shuteye." "Sleep well." "What are you grinnin' at?" "Hello?" "Mr. El-Baz?" "Lieutenant Colonel!" "Mr. Alfred Worden." "Farouk El-Baz." "I've been expecting you." "Have you ever seen the inside of a human brain?" "I'll show you mine." "Come." "By the time you reach the lunar orbit... your brain should look much the same." "This, Colonel Worden... is what the inside of my brain looks like." "Crater Alphonsus." "Dark halo craters, narrow rilles." "Suspected volcanic eruptions." "Important word: "suspected."" "You will tell us for sure." "Schroter's Valley, maybe formed by lava flow." "Tranquility Base." "Perhaps you've heard of it." "Mostly just a bunch of bumps, squiggles and circles to me." "You will learn." "Don't worry." "I won't leave your side." "Perfect." "The crater Theopholis." "Now, how far out into the ejecta blanket... does the hummocky area extend?" "Oh, boy." "I'm lost." "Imagine it here." "While your crew mates are down, digging into the lunar surface... you will be floating high up, seeing how all the pieces fit together." "Do you see?" "I'm not sure." "Two hundred and forty kilometers east." "Forty-six kilometers from the surface." "This rille is seven kilometers wide." "Now, how deep is this crater?" " About 3,000 feet." " Yes!" "Colonel Worden, you are gonna make a brilliant student." "Call me Al." "Now, we can... if we're very clever, we can figure out... a lot about an area like this by putting together... what we call "the suite."" "What the hell is he talking about?" "The suite." "I'm talking about a dozen hand-sized rocks... that tell the story of this place... in all of its diversity... from the typical... right to the exotic." "You got ten minutes." "Thought you could escape me, huh?" "You got it, Jimmy?" "I'm getting there." "How about you?" "Yeah, I think so." "Don't look so sure." "I'm feeling good." "I would be nervous if I was you." "Oh, I'm nervous, Jimmy." "I'm real nervous." "Oh, yeah." "Good." "It's a pretty decent collection, Dick." "You know what to look for next time, right?" " Good Lord." " Well." "Let's see what you guys have got." "You first, Jimbo." "Okay." "Not... bad." "Uh-huh." "Yeah." "All right." "Fine." "Good... first try." "Interesting." "Jack, let's see what you found." "How sweet it is." "Oh, yeah." "Mm-hmm." "Wow." "I thought the twinning on that one was pretty distinctive." "How about that?" " You don't see much of that here." " I was surprised." "Well done." "Good diversity." "Tells the story." " Heard any more, Dave?" " Just what I told you." "Some mission's been cancelled, and Deke wants to see us." "Here we go." "Hey, guys, come on in." "We knew that cutbacks were inevitable, that Congress might cut us short." "Well, they've done it." "The Apollo 15 mission as we know it has been scrubbed." "We're moving straight into the "J" Missions... which, as you know, mean longer stays on the surface... an upgraded LEM, better suits and backpacks... and ultimately more science." "And of course, the lunar rover." "There's one going with the next flight." "I want you two to be the first to drive it." "Apollo 15 will be the first "J" Mission." "I've pushed back all the crews to accommodate the switch." "You're going to need a lot more training time." "I don't know how you'll fit it in, but we'll give you the support you need." "We'll make it work." "So, you'll have Apollo 15... and that'll be followed by 16 and 17." "But that's it." "They've cancelled Apollo 18 and 19." "Okay, guys." "Bad luck, Jack." "Are you kidding?" "That makes what we're doing that much more important." "We're inventing a whole new science here." "Lunar field geology." "And we'll need to work it out together." "Time is everything, gentlemen." "And preparation is the key to success." "So when we're confronted with a new survey site... what do we do?" "We go to the highest place we can find... and figure out the big picture." "Quickly." "That mound... that's where the LEM just landed." "Dave, head on up there." "Tell me what you see." "What I need you to do is sketch out what Dave is describing... and then it'll be your turn." "Okay, Houston." "The albatross has landed." "Dave, start with the twelve o'clock... work your way around, tell us what you see." "Well, let's see." "My twelve o'clock is..." "A bunch of layers on the far wall of the canyon." "To the right, there's a lot of dirt... with green stuff sloping down." "Over to my right is a large..." "well, it's a huge..." "No, no, it's like... a huge breccia-like boulder... right in the side of the wall." "At my three o'clock, there's a... layer of rock about... one quarter up from the bottom of the wall." "I don't think so." "At my four o'clock... is a large block of granite on the top of the hill... which contains at least... four vertical dikes... protruding out to the uplift." "Okay." "At my six o'clock, open end of the canyon, there's a ridge..." "Okay, Houston, at my nine o'clock is a thick layer... of uniform, horizontal beds." "Middle ground sloping to the right." "Superimposed over a variety of about 20 layers of light and dark material." "Looking down at my eight o'clock, the range of mountains in the background." "About 20 degrees." "He's cookin'." "First of all, we have this idea for a stand-up E.V.A. Right after landing." "What's that?" "Basically sticking my head out of the LEM and having a look around." " Why?" " To survey the site." "Geologically." "Okay, so we risk a fifth cabin repressurization." "We spend money and manpower on a revised checklist... and procedures... and we add weight in the form of consumables... all so we can add another time-consuming item... to a flight plan and training schedule... that's already filled beyond capacity?" "I think you'd see the value if you joined us on a field trip sometime." " I would, would I?" " Absolutely." "You'd have a ball." "There's this really neat rake that the professor devised." "It would help us get a comprehensive suite... of pebble-sized rocks in the regolith." "We'd like another telephoto lens." "We're already at our weight limit." "You know that." "I've thought of that." "With the new, shorter rendezvous... maybe we could trade some abort propellant." "Abort propellant?" "For a rake?" "A rake and a lens." "There." "The big picture." "You must tell me the big picture first." " Quickly!" " Basalt lava flows." "No, too specific." "The big picture first." "A cinder cone with lots of lava." "From where is the lava flowing?" " Damn!" "I don't know." " There is a breach in the cone." "Do you see?" " I can't." " Of course not." "We passed it already." "All right." "Let's try again." "I'm the new guy here." " We need you to weigh in on this." " Gentlemen." "We are not leaving this room or breaking for lunch... until we agree on a landing site for Apollo 15." "Now, then... we have a deadlock between Marius Hills on the one hand... and Hadley Rille in the Appenine Mountains on the other." "We have been barking over this bone for six months now... with absolutely no movement... or, I might add, accommodation." "If we're going to launch in July, we must know today." "Now, then, let's start at the beginning." "Chet." "I stand by my position." "Marius Hills." "We should stick with what we know." "We're just getting equatorial landings down." "Fooling around with anything else, in an area we don't even have pictures..." " What about the guidance trajectory?" " What about the propulsion system?" "It is much more efficient." "I don't care about the new guidance trajectory or propulsion system." "You know how big those mountains are?" "Eighteen thousand feet." "That's right." " Eighteen thousand feet." " We're aware of that." "Trying to land among those peaks... just scares the hell out of me." " Why go where we've already gone?" " The moon's the moon." "How can you say that?" "How can you say, "The moon's the moon?"" "I don't believe it." "Now, look, samples are what count, in my opinion." "Marius Hills presents an adequately unique site... for testing any of the Genesis theories... and it seems a safer landing site." "Dr. Pemberton, the Appenines, first of all... should be a great source of deeper and older... imbrium ejecta... and we may even find material there... from the original lunar crust." "But it's huge." "How do you expect the astronauts to explore... such a wide, expansive site?" "Well, Dave?" "That's where the rover comes in." "Assuming that it's ready in time and Hadley isn't covered with boulders... as radar shows, which would render the rover nonnavigable." "So you see, gentlemen..." "Marius is so much more reasonable a site." "Marius Hills is attractive... only for its allegedly rare volcanic rocks... and for being the easy, safe choice." "Well, fine." "Then we might as well consider Tycho." "All right, let's consider it." "I got a list of reasons a mile long why Tycho would make the ideal landing site." "Oh, come on, Jason." "That is just nuts." "Astronauts collecting enough regolith to bury NASA headquarters..." " That's nuts." " Gentlemen." "Gentlemen, we are getting absolutely nowhere here." "In fact... we are moving backward." "Gentlemen, it's getting late." "We still have this decision to make." "Marius Hills or Hadley Rille?" "Help us out here, Dave." "You're the commander, and you haven't said a word all day." "What do you think?" "Let's see." "No offense, Chet, but we feel pretty confident we can land at either site." "Dr. Pemberton, I'm one who respects hedging bets." "But from what I've learned in the field..." "Hadley-Appenine with its complex variety of features, both impact and volcanic... is the best choice for putting together a picture of how the moon came to be." " It may be a little riskier." " Not a little." "But also..." "Also the Appenines have something else." "Grandeur." "And I believe there's something to be said for... exploring beautiful places." "It's good for the spirit." "Then it's Hadley, gentlemen." "All right." " Wait!" " One pass." "Let me see." " There were 16 volcanos." " Very good." "Yes." "Oh, my God." "It's perfect." " Viewing angle?" " Thirty-four degrees." "Oh, my friend." "It will be as if I am going to the moon myself." "God, I don't believe it." "Farouk, last night I had a dream, and I actually saw it." "What did you see?" "I'm orbiting around, and I'm hit by a meteor shower." "I'm heading straight down to a Tsiolkovsky Crater." "It's a lot deeper than what the photo showed." "And when I reached the moment of impact..." "I'm cushioned by this blanket of dust." "Volcanic dust." "And I'm okay." "What does that mean?" "It means you are ready." "You know the moon as you know your own planet." "You've become as crazy as me." "Right." " Meteor crater!" " Brilliant." "Grand Canyon." "No kidding." "Hadley Rille, my kind of place." "Flip the lights on, if you would, Stan." "This will be our last... visit together." " Glad you could make it, Deke." " I wouldn't have missed it." "I know." "I'll miss you too." "Now, when you get up there, you're going to see... a lot of this." " Basalt." " Mm-hmm." " You'll be seeing a lot of this." " Breccia." "Breccia." "But while I have your attention one last time..." "I want to make a plea... for this fellow here." "We really don't know what we're going to find on the lunar surface." "Pete Conrad's car keys?" "Maybe." "But what we'd really like to find... is this... anorthosite." "It's important because it may unlock... a stack of mysteries... about the origins of the moon." "Because if you find this... you have probably found a piece of the moon's... primordial crust." "It would be a shame if it was up there... and we missed it." "Seven percent fuel." "Fifteen and one." "Minus one." "Ten feet." "Minus one." "Contact." "Yes!" "Okay, Houston, the Falcon is on the plain at Hadley." "Roger, Falcon." "Okay, overhead hatch, full open and latched." "Okay, coming full open." "Let's see if we can't give our friends in the Geology Backroom... something to get excited about." "I'm pulling myself up through the hatch now." "Oh, boy, what a view." "What a view!" "Oh!" "If the professor could see this." "All right, I'm looking off here to the north." "I can see Pluton, Icarus." "I'm getting my camera out." "Start at my twelve o'clock position." "As I come out around to Mount Hadley... there are no sharp, jagged peaks or large boulders anywhere." "Boy, the telephoto lens is great for this." "To the eastern lineations are layers dipping about 30 degrees." "There's one bright, fresh crater right next to St. George... on the eastern side, which is almost white in albedo." "It's got an ejecta blanket about a crater diameter away." "I tell you, this is really gonna help us when we get out there." "Roger, Dave." "It sure will." "Endeavor, this is Houston." "You're at T-2 now." "Okay, Houston, ready for some words on Tsiolkovsky Crater." "Great." "We're listening." "First off... the central peak is a very large... spur peak on the south and east sides." "Getting blocky on the north side." "There appears to be some layering visible on the south and west... exposed scarp of the peak." " You getting this?" " You're coming in loud and clear." "Loud and clear, my friend." "Okay." "Give me a word any time." " Okay, Dave." " Ready?" "Ready." "Okay, over the rail here." "Down she comes." "All righty." "Everything looks like it's in good shape." "Here we go." "Thataboy." "A little more." "A little more." "It's comin'." " It's comin' okay." " We're movin' forward, Joe." "Gotta get a feel for this thing." "It's nine miles an hour." "I can see I'm gonna have to keep my eyes on the road." "I can maneuver pretty well." "I'm up a little rise." "There's no dust at all." "Steering is quite responsive, even with only the rear steering." "There doesn't seem to be much slip." "If you make a turn sharply, it responds quite well." "Look at that." "There's a nice little round one-meter crater." "Whoa!" "Hang on." "Feels like we need seat belts, doesn't it?" "Yeah, really do." "It's a buckin' bronco." "Yeah, man." "Cut back on the power, it keeps right on going." "I've got it to the floor here, and we're up to 12." "Got this great suspension system for this thing." "This is really a rockin', rollin' ride." "There's an elongated depression here." "Got to get to our drill site." "I'm pushing, but the damn thing's bottomed out." "Look, we're not gonna get it out." "Let me give you a hand, Dave." "We'll get this drill out." "I don't know what we've hit here, but this thing is really stuck." "All right, Dave." "Here we go." "You ready?" "One, two... three." "Damn." "Dave, let's take a breather." "We want you to break it loose, and let the stem and the drill... sit in the surface." "We'll come back and pull it out later." " Let me finish it off, Joe." " Dave, Jim." "We want you to end your tasks here." "We want you back on the rover, please." "Make sure they get back to the drilling site first thing in the morning." "That's crazy." "We're gonna blow the north complex." "North complex was always a "maybe." We need those deep core samples." "No, they can't get them out." "That's pretty obvious." "Are you gonna blow the whole E.V.A. On them?" "If that's what it takes." "God, that was tough." "I never would have thought." "That drill didn't budge in an hour." " Are you all right?" " I just need some water, that's all." "The darn line kinked up in the suit." "Why didn't you say anything?" "I didn't want to pull in the plug." "Get some water in you now." "Houston, Falcon." "Yeah, Falcon, this is Houston." "Go ahead." "Joe, we're heading back to the site." "How long do you want us to work on getting this drill out?" "We're spending a lot of time on this thing." "Tell me you really want it this bad." "That's hard for me to say." "Stand by." "What's it gonna be, fellas?" "We're cutting into the drive to Hadley Rille." " Let's forget this thing." " That is not an option." " Really, we can't mess that up." " Just a second." " You wouldn't recognize a basalt..." " How dare you?" "Hey, we're wasting time." "Now, here's the thing." "I'd like nothing more than to abandon the core..." " and get on with the observation." " Absolutely." "But the fact is, if we don't get that core out... the whole world is gonna look at it as a mission failure." " But Lee..." " I don't think we can afford that." "So we're gonna give it a couple more tries, and then move on." "Regardless." "Fair enough?" "Good." "Tell them to keep trying." "Just go ahead and give it one more try." "And then we want you to continue on with the grand prix." "Good enough." "Let's put some muscle into it." "Yeah, Houston, I hope that freeze-dried spinach we had for breakfast pays off." " Dang it!" " Hang on." "This bit looks like it's gonna break." "What the heck is this in anyway?" "All right, I'm gonna get down low and grab it." "Okay, hang on for a second." "I'm gonna get a better grip." "One, two, three." "Okay, troops." "Let's move on to the rille." "Roger that, Joe." "Okay, Houston, we're moving to the second site." "The patterns of the landscape seem consistent with photographs from 14." "I see a large concentration of enormous boulders." "This one boulder's very angular." "It's got glass on one side, with lots of bubbles." "Looks fairly recent." "Give me your hammer." "I can see several larger blocks that rolled downslope." "They're angular, and they're all the same color and texture." "I see the linear patterns that Dave commented on before... with the dip and everything." "Okay, eight kilometers up a little rise." " Look at this baby climb the hill." " We're heading about 165 right now." " This is the elbow right here." " We're on the east rim." "There's a fragment here." "It's a rough surface texture." "It looks like a very fine-grain, gray, rather solid frag." "Could this be rhesling here?" "We're on the edge of the spur crater." "There's the usual basalt regolith with a corona of light albedo ejecta." "Get the unusual one." "Oh, boy." "It's a beaut." " It's a white clast." " Oh, man, look at that." "I can almost see twinning in there." "Guess what we just found." "I think we found what we came for." "I think we found ourselves some anorthosite." "That's it!" "It's like being back at the old San Gabriel mountains." "Roger, Dave." "Make this bag 196 a special bag." "Did you see that?" "I doubt a random surface sample would have ever pulled that out of a hat." "Really." "Give me guys in the field any day." "Yes, sir." "That is science." "I stand corrected, Dr. Silver." "Ah, well..." "I can't wait to get it home... and see what you guys can make of it." "We're trying to drive straight ahead and stay on a fairly level contour." "We don't wanna go down." "Yeah, I think I'm going to park right up here." "This would be a good picture for Houston." "Joe, if you want to swing the TV around here... you're going to see a spectacular place." "Boy, oh, boy." "Look at that rille." "How about that, geology fans?" "I can see from up at the top of the rille down... there's debris all the way." "Looks like some outcrops directly... at about eleven o'clock to the sun line." "Looks like a layer, about five percent of the rille wall... with a vertical face on it." "Beautiful, Dave." "Beautiful." "As the space poet Rhesling would say..." ""We're ready for you to come back again... to the homes of men... on the cool, green hills of Earth."" "Thank you, Joe." "We're ready too." "But it's been great." "I've noticed a very slight smile on the face of the professor." "You very well may have passed your final exam." "Well, we're glad to hear that." "You tell the professor that we couldn't have done it without him." "Okay, Joe, if you can swing the camera toward the LEM here." "Hope you have a good picture there." "Well, in my left hand I have a feather." "In my right hand, a hammer." "I guess one of the reasons we got here today... was because of a gentleman named Galileo a long time ago... who made a rather significant discovery... about falling objects and gravity fields." "We thought... where would be a better place to confirm his findings... than on the moon." "And so, we thought we'd try it here for you." "The feather happens to be, appropriately, a falcon feather." "For our Falcon." "I'll drop the two of them here." "Hopefully, they'll hit the ground at the same time." "How 'bout that?" "That proves that Mr. Galileo was correct in his findings." "Superb, Dave." "I always say: "There's nothing like a little science on the moon."" "Gentlemen." " Proud of those boys." " Brilliant management on your part." " Joe." " Dave and Jim... we have a very special guest with us right now... if he'd care to say a word or two." "Roger that, Joe." "You've done a lovely job." "You just don't know how we're jumping up and down down here." "That's because I happen to have a very good professor." "A whole bunch of them, Dave." "We sure appreciate everything you did in getting us ready for this thing." "There's an awful lot to be seen and done up there." "I'll bet." "We think you defined the first site to be revisited on the moon." "I hope someday we can get you up here too." "That would be... an amazing adventure." "But I feel as if I've already been there... thanks to you." "Oh, you were with us, Professor... every step of the way." "We went to the moon as trained observers in order to gather data... not only with our instruments onboard... but with our minds." "I'd like to quote a statement from Plutarch... which I think expresses our feelings since we've come back." ""The mind is not a vessel to be filled... but a fire to be lighted."" "That's it." "Wow." "Sample #15415." "They're calling it the Genesis Rock." "It may be as old as the solar system itself." "Since I was five years old... all I ever wanted to be was a pilot." "And flying to the moon... seemed the ultimate adventure." " Understand?" " I think I do." "Nothing seemed more important." "But finding this little fellow... understanding what it represents, what it can tell us... will probably be the most satisfying thing I'll ever do." "Well, I suspect there's more to come from Dave Scott." "In the meantime, "Brought back original crust of the moon"... should weigh pretty impressively in your resume." "You know?" "Translation And Subtitles By Captions, Inc." "Los Angeles" "We choose to go to the moon." "We choose to go to the moon." "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things... not because they are easy, but because they are hard." "Look at that!" "That's beautiful." "That's gotta be one of the most memorable moments of my life." "Of the two dozen men who flew to the moon... twelve were veterans who'd flown in space before." "Nineteen would never do so again, and three made the trip twice." "The average starting pay for an astronaut was less than $20,000 a year." "And whereas they could purchase brand-new Corvettes at dealer cost... no one would sell them life insurance." "All but one of the astronauts was married." "The wives of Apollo enjoyed the perks... and handled the attention with varying degrees of success." "The tough task they faced was to cope... with an equal volume of stress as did their mates... making their time at NASA just as arduous... just as consuming, and just as adventurous... as if they themselves had made the voyage from the Earth to the moon." "Well, that took a while." "I thought you left and went home." "The only clean way to have a bowel movement... is to completely strip down and give yourself an hour." "Thanks." "Want me to quote you on that?" "I had a little problem though." "I lost my wedding ring." " You took off your weddin' ring too?" " Yeah." "You see it, John?" "But I wasn't lookin' for it." "You check the fingers in your glove?" "It wasn't there." "I just got married." "I can't lose my wedding ring on the way to the moon." "That could be tough to explain to the wife... unless she's had to take a bowel movement in zero-G as well." "Tell her it's not NASA-approved equipment for space travel." "Ladies and gentlemen of the greater Houston area... welcome to the fourth annual Junior League Winter Cavalcade of Fashion." "Get ready for some of the latest in fashion fun and styles-a-plenty... modeled by the most elite women in the world... representing the very best that America has to offer." "And here they are now, hardworking pioneers in their own right... the wives of America's astronauts!" "Mrs. Elliot See is actually a Marilyn... a civilian homemaker who takes her housewife duties to heart." "Boy, is she gonna look sharp at the market... in this smart paprika ensemble with saffron blouse and matching lining." "Not to mention the accessories." "Wow!" "And there she goes." "Good-bye, Marilyn." "And hello, Marilyn." "We've got two Marilyns in this crop of astro-wives." "And here is none other than Mrs. James Lovell Junior... or Marilyn." "She shows her navy spirit today by testing out... a navy blue silk suit... with kicky red leather shoes." "Not quite what they wear back in Wisconsin, eh, Marilyn?" "Mom, where are we?" "Are we still in Houston?" "I think so." "I hope so." "I don't know." " When will we get there?" " When we get there." " But, Mom!" " Please." "Sit back." "Everybody out." " Hurry up." " I'm coming." "Stop bickering." "Please stop." " I didn't do it." " It wasn't me." "Enough!" "Enough!" " Mom." " Mrs. Lovell." "Enough, please." "We spoke on the phone." "I'm Charlie." "It's hard to imagine what it'll look like right now... but in a couple of months there are going to be houses... and a supermarket and churches, and you'll be in on the ground floor." "Is that right?" "So, are other NASA families buying homes here?" "Yeah." "The original seven have staked their claim here." "There's John Glenn, Deke Slayton, Scott Carpenter, Conrads, Armstrongs." "So which..." "One minute!" " Which is the one that Jim has picked?" " This is it right here." "This was his favorite one." "It was?" "You saw the sidewalks out front." "They'll continue into here." "You'll have a paved driveway, shade trees... and your front door is right here." "Okay, everybody in." "Everybody in." "Nobody touch the paneling." "It's just been stained." "Jay, go out and bring in some of those boxes... or else nobody else is going to." "Go right now and get those boxes, and then I'll make you a sandwich." " They're everywhere." " I'm aware of that." "Suzie, I know I just told you not to touch that." "Hi." "Why don't you put that over there." "Look out for the wallpaper." "Thank you." "Let's see." "What have I learned in the two years since we've been here?" "Ah." "You can't underestimate the importance... of a hot, nutritious breakfast." "This is what NASA said to us the first day we got here." " Did anyone from NASA say that to us?" " You were there." "They meant it." "If Gordo were ever home to eat breakfast, I would prepare him one." "Deke eats his breakfast walkin' out to his Corvette." "Rumaki?" " Thanks." " I love rumaki." "Please, go on." "What you're saying is very helpful." "Um, I guess just that... everything that was tough about being married to a test pilot, multiply by 10." "Twenty." " You're right." " What's tough?" "Just because he stares death in the face every day?" "I find that exhilarating." "Yeah, that and the low pay and long hours." "But it's worth it, don't you think?" "Oh, yeah." "It is." " Who brought the deviled eggs?" " I did." "Do you like them?" " They're great." " Yeah?" " Barb?" " I'm having one." "What's in these?" " You must be tasting the vinegar." " It's great." "I put a little vinegar in with the mayonnaise." " I've got to have one." " I put a little vinegar in." "It just cuts the mayonnaise." "Then I add mustard." "Oh, come on, girls!" " That is so good." " Marge, go ahead." "Okay, well, the long hours and the low pay don't change... but now you're married to the Statue of Liberty." "So everything you say, everything you do... reflects not only on you but on your husband." " The space program." " The United States of America." "The thing is... once your husbands have flown in space... you are going to go places you'd never have gone..." " and meet people you'd never have met." " Like who?" "Um, Debbie Reynolds." "Yes." "The short guy, the funny guy." "Bill Dana." "And Senator Everett Dirkson." "Anybody else want anything while I'm up?" "I'll have a little of that stuffed celery." "I'm on a diet." "But at social functions, you're the perfect accessory." "NASA loves to trot you out for pictures and cocktail parties... but other than that, they want you to stay out of the way." "Oh, shit!" "Faye, from now on it better be "poodle-doo."" "Poodle-doo, Marilyn." "I just slopped all over your new rug." " Thanks." " I'm sorry." "Marge, please go on." "I think the most important thing is to take care of the home front... and that man of yours, and don't burden him with anything." "Any problem at home could jeopardize his place in the flight line." "Sorry." "Go back to sleep." " You all right?" " Yeah, I'm fine." "Go back to sleep." "That was your third time tonight." "I'm fine." "Good night." "What the hell's goin' on?" "Tell me this isn't what I'm thinking." "Holy God." "I don't believe it." "I can't believe this." "They're gonna pull you from the flight rotation, aren't they?" "Aren't they?" "God, I'm sorry." "I'm so sor..." "I'm sorry." "No." "I love you." "I'm gonna love this baby." " This is great news." " They're gonna pull you." "I know they are." "They're gonna pull you." "We won't give 'em a chance." "We're not gonna tell 'em." "But they're gonna know." "I'm gonna start showing soon." "I'm almost four months along, Jim." "Four months?" "How could you..." "How could you keep this from me for four months?" "You were never home." "I must've been here at least once about four months ago." " Yeah." " Wasn't I?" "I was." " Hello?" " Hi, Marilyn?" " This is John Young." " Oh, God." "Where's Jim?" "Jim's fine." "We have a little situation here I need your help on." "There's been an accident." "I need you to get to Marilyn's soon, before the press gets there." "Good." "Thanks for coming." "He's asleep right now, but if he wakes up, do what you can do." "I put two bottles in the refrigerator." "What's goin' on?" "Elliot See's T-38 just crashed in St. Louis." "He and Charlie Bassett are both dead." "And I'm supposed to go over to Marilyn See's and visit... like us wives do, until John Young can get there." " Keep her from answering' the phone." " Right, keep her from the phone." " And keep the press away from her." " How am I supposed to do that?" "Just don't answer the door for anybody until John Young gets there." "There has got to be one cigarette in here somewhere." "I got one right here." " Thank you." " You can do it, Marilyn." "It's decided." "I've already made the doctor's appointments." " I thought you quit." " Oh, I did." " It's just so hard sometimes, isn't it?" " I know." " Let's go in here." " All right." "That's a mess." "Anyway, I made the doctor's appointments." "After last summer, those kids are getting their tetanus shots." "I should do that too, shouldn't I?" "They get out of that water, and every scratch..." "looks infected." "I don't know why they call it "Clear Lake."" " So how's the baby?" " He's a good boy." "Who could that be?" "And here's Jane Conrad with some good news." "This winter, the fabric is a new wool blend... that fits and forms... wow..." "fantastically." "Mrs. Pete Conrad steps smart and sure in this warm ensemble... that's perfect for those trips that take you out of doors." "And thank you, Jane." "And who are these two Gemini twins?" "None other than NASA's twin Pats:" "Mrs. James McDivitt and Mrs. Ed White... dressed here in matching silk Alaskatine double-breasted coats." "Their matching dresses with Egyptian beaded collars of silver and gold... prove that these two women have casual elegance..." ""down Pat."" " You can go first." " I couldn't." "You should." "Ed made the space walk." "Jim just flew the capsule." " You go first, Patty-cake." " I wouldn't know how to talk." " You go first." " Okay, I'll go first." "But remember, when your turn comes, just move your lips, say nice things." "Welcome, ladies." "Right this way." "Down here." " Hey, Pat." " Gordo." "How are you doin'?" "Just come on in here." "Let me..." "Sorry." "There you go." "Good." "Come this way." "How about that, huh?" "There you go." "Steve, could you get..." "Pat, why don't we get you over here." " Wanna sit here?" " Sounds good." "And another one." "There you go." "Good." "Why don't you come on in like this." "All right?" "Okay, let me..." "Gemini 4, Houston Capcom." " Do you read me now?" " Roger." "Loud and clear." "Well, we've got your wives here... so I think that we're gonna have Mrs..." "Well, Mrs. McDivitt first." " Hold that." " Okay." " Here's your button." " All right." " Just push." " Jim?" " Jimmy?" " What?" "Can you hear me?" "Roger." "I can hear you loud and clear." "You're doin' great, Jim." "Yes." "We seem to be covering a lot of territory up here." "Over California right now." "Get yourself over Texas." " I'll be over Texas in three minutes." " Hurry up." "How are the kids making out?" "They're fine." "They think you're at the Cape." "Are you being good?" "Well, I don't have much choice." "All I do is eat, sleep and look out the window." "Is Ed awake?" "Yes, he's right here." "You be good, kid." "We're switching headsets now." "Here you go." "Good morning." "You need to push that." "You gotta push the button, honey." " Good morning." " How you doin'?" "I'm fine." "You gotta push the button when you talk, then release so I can talk." " You're lookin' good." " I try to." "It's lookin' pretty good from up here." "We're comin' up on west Texas area." "Be over Houston in about a minute or so." " That's good." " Patty, repeat it." "That's good." "You sure looked like you were havin' a good time yesterday." "Yeah, quite a time we had." "How are Eddie and Bonnie, hon?" "They're fine." "Good." "I'll see you later." "Okay, well, you have a real good flight." "Thank you, honey." "Bye-bye." "Bye, honey." " Careful, careful." " I got it." "You did so good." "Oh, my goodness!" "Look at them!" "Patty." " Do I have to speak to them?" " Barbara Young said it wasn't so bad." "They're just hopin' to have a few words." "You two are front-page news." " Come on, it'll be fine." " I just..." "And Jim sounded great, like he was really enjoying himself." "That, of course, makes me very happy." "How do your kids feel about their dad not getting to walk in space?" "Well, there they are, clearly brokenhearted." "Mrs. White, you were the first wife to speak to your husband in space." "That give you a special thrill?" "I was thrilled." "Yes, I had a special thrill." " Will you be relieved when Ed gets home?" " God, yes." "Oh, gosh, yes." "Is it true that L.B.J. Has invited you all to the White House?" "I beg your pardon?" "We hear the President has invited you to visit him at the White House." "Are you gonna go?" "We'd be delighted." "And everywhere you went, it was..." ""Lincoln slept here and Roosevelt slept here... and John-John played on this carpet."" "Jackie Kennedy did such a beautiful job on everything." "She did." "She really did." "Did you steal any silverware or stationery?" " What is L.B.J. Like?" " Was Lady Bird there?" "Is he tall?" "Does she really go by "Lady Bird"?" "Listen to this." " The president..." " What's her real name?" "The president gets this idea out of the blue... that Ed and Jim have to go to the Paris Air Show... and represent the U.S.A." "And we get to go with them." "Wait a minute now." "Is this Paris, France, or Paris, Illinois?" "John didn't get to go to Paris after his Gemini trip." "Well, hell, I'd be happy with a trip to the White House." "He is never gonna get to go to the White House." "Of course he is." "Don't you just wish you knew that flight plan sometimes?" "Marge said that there isn't a flight list." "There has to be, and I think that we should know... so we have time to find something to wear." "Exactly." "Will you hand me the pincushion?" "So, Ed must be thrilled." "Well, he's happy to be flyin' with Gus, but he was hopin' to be in command." "The Chaffees are really nice, and this is a feather in Roger's cap." "Are you sitting on my pinking shears?" "I am so sorry." "When do they announce it?" "When do they announce it?" "Monday, I think, or tomorrow." "I just wanted Ed and Jim to fly together." "Jim loved flying with Ed." "I know." "They just always wanted Ed to do things first:" "First spacewalk, now Apollo 1." "I'm so worried." "Sometimes I just get so worried." "I know." "Me too, kid." "I just have to have the same faith that Jim does." "There's so much redundancy in the spacecraft." "There's backups for backups." "But it's brand-new, untested." "More history to be made then." "I'm sure Jim wishes it was him going." "Maybe I do too." "Jan." "And here comes one of our favorite astro-wives." "And with a quick snap of the jacket, this smart suit becomes suitable... for a night on the town of dinner, dancing... and maybe just a lovely stroll for Jan Armstrong and her husband Neil... beneath the soft glow of the moon." "Thank you, Jan." "Next up, Susan Borman... perfect and pretty in this French rose pink swing coat... and matching front-pleated skirt with an empire waistline." "The wife of Frank Borman has many demands placed on her... and looking good is just one of 'em." "Susan handles her duties with style and grace... as you can tell by this ideal blend... of practicality and design." "How could there be a fire?" "This was just a test." "Locked down on the pad for the plugs out." "They should've been able to get them out." "They should've been able to open the hatch." "I'll call you sometime tonight and fill you in on what I can." "They sure don't waste any time gettin' you to the Cape." "They can't remove the bodies until I get there." " I won't see you until we're all there." " I guess not." "Are you sure you want to go?" "It's not a question of what I want." "I'm needed there." "To the moon?" "What?" "Are you sure you want to go to the moon?" "Is it worth any of this?" "Susan, Gus and Ed knew the risks." "We all do." "This could've been you in that fire." "It wasn't." "There's more to this life than just living." "I gotta go." "Okay, Fred." "You and your brother behave yourselves and try to get some sleep." "And tell Eric's mom that next week you guys spend the night over here, okay?" "All right, honey." "Bye-bye." "Master, someone is at the front door." "I don't know what I did to deserve this attention, other than marry a pilot." "But a pilot's wife is what I am... and I'm glad I can support him in doing what he loves." "I do agree that the exploration of space that he and others are working toward... is a great thing for this country and the world." "It's an endeavor that is worth all the risks that they have to face each day... as great as those risks have proven to be." "Even if my husband had not flown the first mission to the moon and back..." "I would be proud to say that I did my part to support the program." "So, thank you for this award, and thank you for the lovely afternoon." "The one thing I do not miss is Junior League." "I don't know how you do it." "All those speeches, you are so good at it." "Am I?" " Didn't you get nervous?" " Yeah." "I just try to speak slowly." "So are these all the houses that you've seen?" " Yeah, I'm considering them." " They're all so far away." "From what?" "Well, here's a nice one." "This has a nice yard and it's two bedrooms." " Is two enough for you?" " I don't know." "Pat, why don't you just stay in the house you're in?" "Because I can't stand this town anymore... and I can't stay in that house." "But you're gonna be far away from everyone you know." "Nobody cares about me." "They cared about Ed." "Ed's gone, I'm not." "You know, sometimes I just..." "I forget how to breathe." "It's the craziest thing." "I can't get any air." "I go runnin' around the house opening' up windows... and tryin' to get air." "I keep tellin' myself, "Patty, calm down." "Just inhale and exhale."" "It's an easy thing to do." "Breathing's easy, but I just..." "I just can't seem to get any air." "It's 3:30." " That's not too early to have a drink?" " A drink?" "No." "I'd love a drink." "All righty." "Be right back." " Something wrong, Mrs. Borman?" " I'm sorry." "I forgot something at home." "Okay." "No changing the answers this time." "The truth." ""Do you make efforts to hide your drinking?"" "Yes." ""Do you often drink alone?"" "Yes." ""How long have you been drinking?"" "Before we go on another second, special attention needs to be paid..." "Their husbands have the courage to go to the moon... but I think the wife of Thomas Stafford... may need a boost from the audience to get her from backstage." "So why don't we all have it up for Faye Stafford?" "And here she comes, ladies and gentlemen, Faye Stafford... wearing this nutmeg silk three-piece... with a restrained touch of rhinestones at the jacket's belting... adding just the right touch of brilliance." "Complemented by the fawn coq-feathered cloche... this outfit makes her unstoppable." "So, out with it, kid." "How is Oklahoma?" "You do know, of course, that Weatherford, Oklahoma... is the home of Thomas P. Stafford... the astronaut who flew around the moon in Apollo 10... paving the way for Neil Armstrong's one giant leap." "No." "Please don't tell me it says all that on one sign." "Just one of many." "One welcomes you to the Thomas P. Stafford Airport." "Oh, they named the airport after him." "Who'd have thunk, huh?" "Or may I suggest a stroll down Stafford Street... to the Thomas P. Stafford Park, where you can admire... a life-size bronze statue of the man himself, Thomas P. Stafford." "Everywhere I go!" " Faye, I miss you." " I'm so glad I could come." "I really am." "I can't believe you're leavin'." "I can't believe it either." "I feel like a deserter." "You are smart, 'cause you are getting out of here with your marriage intact." "And, boy, I wish I could say the same for the rest of us... but, you know." " Thank Donn Eisele, huh?" " Really." "Didn't the whole damn thing just go to hell when he and Harriet split?" "When he left Harriet." "When he left Harriet." "And they didn't kick his ass out of the astronaut corps." " They did not." " It just opened up the floodgates." "There must've been a zillion marriages just hangin' by a thread... just waitin' for one to go bust, test the waters." " Al and Pamela." " John and Barbara." "Who knows how many more to come as the years go by?" "Why should NASA be any different than the rest of the country, really?" "Oh, I didn't tell you." "I was flyin' home from one of Pete's launches, and this stewardess... this stewardess sits down beside me and she says..." ""Can I ask you a question?" "I'm in love with one of your astronauts, and he loves me." "Am I just bein' naive, or will he ever leave his wife?"" "Didn't you just wanna throw her off the plane?" "I wanted to, but I said to her as forcefully as I could..." ""Not ever."" "Now I just hate that that little peanut-pusher... knows that I was wrong." "You know what I think?" "I mean, honestly." "I would rather be widowed." " So would I." " You don't mean that." "I do, I do... because at least you get outta here with a little dignity." "If you're widowed, there's a code of behavior... that's understood by everybody." "When you're divorced..." " Did anyone call Marilyn See?" " I did." "I haven't thought about her in so long." "I wish she could come, but she said she just wasn't comfortable." "Poor Marilyn." "Sometimes I miss Pat White so much." "She should be here." "We fell out of touch." "She remarried and..." " Where are you movin' again?" " Michigan." "Jim's gonna be vice president... of consumer affairs for..." " Did you forget what he's gonna be?" " Yeah." "I can't..." "Jim's gonna be vice president of corporate affairs... for Consumer Power Company." "Just a little less exciting than being an astronaut." "That's a good thing." " Is Barbara coming, does anybody know?" " She might." "I don't know though." "I don't know." "What is she gonna do for launch?" " Is she gonna go?" " I wouldn't." " I would." " I would too." "I definitely would." "She was just as much of the Apollo program as anyone." "As far as I'm concerned, it's her mission too." "An astronaut's wife, like Barbara Young... needs an out-of-this-world style... and she sure looks way out in this tulip skirt... with matching crimson swing coat and stand-up collar... making her a stand out fashion statement." "Wow." "And T-minus ten... nine, eight... seven, six, five... four, three... two, one... ignition." "We have ignition of the mighty rocket, and liftoff!" "Liftoff of Apollo 16!" "And off they go, astronauts Young, Mattingly and Duke... on what will be the fifth mission to put man on the moon... at the Descartes Plain." "Apollo 16 is go... as it climbs higher into the sky over the Atlantic... on April 16, 1972." "Spectacular!" "Just spectacular!" "Did you copy that?" "A little bit to the left." "A little bit right." "Oops." "Not there." " Comin' to you." " We copy that." "I think I got it." "No, I don't." "Just like in the training' building." "Charlie, I'm right behind you." "Okay, comin' to you." "I will say, I am proud to be an American." "What a program!" "What a place!" "What experience!" "You need to go up about three degrees then." " That the right way now?" " Yeah." "It's movin' in the right direction." " Hey, Ken, guess what I just found." " What's that?" "A ring." " Is that right?" " Yeah." "I think it's yours." "Boy, how's that for luck?" "That's luck, boy." "That is good luck." "Okay, that's done." "What else can I do for you, lady?" "Oh, God, I don't know." "I think we're finished in the kitchen." "I thought you finished packing' up weeks ago." "I did, but there's always some place that I've missed things, isn't there?" "Why don't you go over to the new house... get there before the movers, and I'll check around here." "I'm just gonna finish marking' these boxes." " Mar?" " Yeah?" "There's a whole drawer full of stuff here." "What do you want me to do with this?" " Pack it, maybe." " Where?" "In a box." "What is all this stuff anyway?" "It's just a lot of junk." " You really want to keep all this?" " I can't bear to throw anything out." "What is that?" "A receipt for Jeff's bike." "That's two years old." "Some of Barbara's artwork." "There's a bunch of manuals for a lot of stuff we don't own anymore." "What's that?" "Is that a skate key?" "What is this?" ""Barbara Lovell." "Susan Lovell."" "What are these?" "Oh, gosh." "Those are their old hospital I.D. Bracelets." "There's probably another one in there somewhere." "This is when the kids had their tonsils out." "When did our kids have their tonsils out?" "1964?" "No, '65." "All three kids had their tonsils out?" "I was pregnant with Jeffrey... and they were having all their problems with tonsillitis... and Dr. Gordon and I just decided to... yank them out." "Just yank 'em out." "Why didn't you tell me?" "Well, you weren't here." "You were working." "Just yank 'em out?" "You put three kids in the hospital." "I should've been informed." "They're my kids too, Marilyn." "Well, you were getting ready for Gemini 7." "You were about to go into space for the very first time." "I was trying to protect you from anything... that might be the reason that you..." "Well, that you just didn't come back." "And every day I had to decide what part of your life..." "I was going to tell you about... and what part of your life I was gonna keep from you." "So there were a lot of things that I didn't tell you, a lot of..." "Many things." "That was my job." "Thank you." "For what?" "Everything." "Honey, come on." "Do you really wanna keep all this crud?" " It's just junk." " Blue Chips." "I could use these." "I understand how they have to... you know... restrict your contact with people who might be upsetting to you." "I didn't get to talk to you." "Well, they have a lot of rules." "Worse than the military." "Anyway, I thought I'd bring you some things." "I didn't know what you might need." "Your slippers." "Some notes from the boys." "Let's see." "Your pillow." "I don't know." "Maybe..." "Maybe you don't need any of this." "Frank..." "I'm so sorry." "I didn't want to embarrass you." "I wanted to be perfect." "You are." "Don't you have 30 seconds of guilt about this." " But I let you down." " No, Sue." "I let you down." "I didn't know." "I never knew." "I've missed you." "I've missed you too." "But I'm used to missing you." "You're not used to missing me." "I don't wanna get used to it." "I'm gonna be fine." "We're gonna be all right." "We're gonna be fine." "Ladies and gentlemen, one last time... the wives of the new nine astronauts!" "For century upon century... to explore the moon was considered... the dream of the addlebrained or foolhardy." "Only divine beings, or supermen... could withstand the rigors and distance of such a journey." "But then, early in the 20th century... mortal humans went aloft on mechanical wings... defying gravity and redefining the realm of possibility." "Forever after... the moon became a goal within the grasp of those on Earth." "For if man could build a machine to make him fly... he would eventually build one to take him to the moon." "When and how and who... was only a matter of time." "From December of 1968 to December of 1972... 24 representatives of the human race... voyaged to the moon... and half as many walked upon its surface." "In all, nine voyages... across the quarter-million-mile distance... from earthly safety to lunar emptiness." "Each one of them dangerous and expensive." "The requirements to make the voyage a reality... were the qualities that make humankind unique." "Our desire to achieve... our wherewithal and perseverance... our willingness to sacrifice time, energy and even life... in the long labor needed to solve the problems one by one... over the course of the endeavor." "Most important of all was humankind's tendency... to imagine things that are not possible." "Imagining that it could be done was the very first step taken... in the journey from the Earth to the moon." "I was very energetic in 1902... and I was working for the great George Melies... who I had met at the Theatre Houdin in Paris." "He was beginning, then, to work with film... and I was in love with the magic that came out of his camera... which wasn't all that different from the ones... you use right now." "Films had been of ordinary things... like a train coming into a station... or a wall being torn down." "He came to me one day and said..." ""Jean-Luc..." "I want to tell an amazing story with my camera." "I want to take people on the most amazing trip."" "I thought he meant a trip to someplace literal." "To Lyon or Marseille." "Then he said..." ""Let's take a voyage to the moon."" "And I said..." ""How about Nice?" "It's closer."" "But the moon was in Monsieur Melies' eyes... and this is what he designed and built... at the Star Film Studios... in Montreal." "Monsieur Melies had constructed... the largest film studio in the world at that time." "Between 1896 and 1913, he produced over 100 films... each more magical and inventive than the other." "Actors, visual effects specialists... carpenters, costumes... all under the direct supervision... of Monsieur Melies." "Yes." "Too much powder, and he burns my set down." "I know." "Don't use too much powder!" "And too little and it will not photograph." "Too little and you're gonna waste all of our time." "I will use as much as Monsieur Melies demands." " See a test?" " Yes, please." "Could you set it off, please?" "One, two, three, set it off." "One, two and three." " Idiot!" "That's too much." " No, it's perfect." "It's perfect." "Do you hear?" "That much." "No more, no less." "Monsieur Melies oversaw every moment of the making of the film." "He was also the lead actor... playing the professor, Barbenfouillis." " Is the grinder ready?" " I will find out!" "One moment, sir." "Is the grinder ready?" "Yes?" "No?" "Please, talk to me." "Thank you." "Look at this." "We're already fighting the night." "Monsieur Melies, we are almost ready." "I know." "I'm no longer George Melies." "I'm Professor Barbenfouillis." "Bring it up!" "Up high." "High." " Is the grinder ready?" " Grinder's ready." "Start the grinder!" "Everyone is talking." "Anticipation in the air." "Come, the astronomers." "You are sure of yourselves... accomplished and full of pride." "You greet the assembled and bow." "Very good." "And now, the pages enter." "Enter the pages." "Please hand the telescopes to the astronomers." "Admire the telescopes, astronomers." "And exit the pages." "Respectfully, nice." "And now comes Barbenfouillis." "I bow to you, sausages." " Now I take my place above you all." " Get ready." "And slowly... raise your telescopes above your head." "Hold it there a moment." "Stop the grinder!" "Melies would have us stop the film... and run in with whatever it was that was needed... to suddenly appear." "We make the exchange... run back off..." " start the camera and..." " Lights." "Voila... the special effect of magic on the screen." "Your telescopes have magically changed into stools." "Sit, gentlemen, and here we are." "We will create a huge cannon... which will fire... a hollow projectile containing myself and yourselves." "This is beginning to sound strange to you... and you murmur about this." "And I say, this projectile... will actually journey... all the way from the Earth to the moon." "But you say to yourself, "This is madness"... and you act like this is madness!" "You say, "This is impossible."" "And I say, "No, it is not impossible."" "Come to me." "Say I'm nuts." "You're nuts." "You're crazy." "How dare you!" "I throw papers at you." "Look at this chaos." "Mayhem breaks out among the scientists... and all this because I propose a voyage... to the moon." "How was it?" "I think it was a good one, no?" "I'm the last man to walk on the moon." "Not that anyone gives a shit." "Can I say "shit" or should I watch my language on this?" "I can make the claim of being the last person to set foot on the moon." "It's really how you look at it, see?" "I got out of the LM after Gene did on the first E.V.A." "So that would make me the twelfth and final person... to make footprints up there." "It's not like I get stopped at restaurants because of it." "I will bet you $50 and a box of donuts... no one knows the names of the last two men to walk on the moon." "And I will tell you why." "Because they didn't die up there." "They flew a near-flawless mission." "They did a hell of a job up there on the moon... and they came back in one piece." "But if you didn't get a NASA paycheck... you never even knew their names." "Eugene Cernan was a veteran astronaut... who walked in space on Gemini 9 in 1966." "Exhausted and overheated in his pressure suit... he lost 15 pounds in the effort." "Gambling that the Apollo program... would remain funded by Congress... he held out for command of Apollo 17... rather than take the job of lunar module pilot... on John Young's 16 flight." "Harrison Schmitt..." "or "Jack," as he is known... went to the moon with a special relish." "The first and only scientist to go... he was a geologist by trade... and an astronaut by choice." "He had also been instrumental in the training of every man... to walk on the moon before him." "He almost didn't get to go himself." " Hey, ta da!" " Congratulations." " What?" " You're going to the moon!" " What?" " Apollo 17, you're on the crew." " Yeah." " I have not heard a thing." " Come on." " You will." "They came to their senses over there." "They're sending one of us." "You'll be the first egghead on the moon." "Come on." "Have a drink for once in your life." "I don't celebrate rumors." " Oh, come on." " Come on." "Harrison Schmitt." "Yes." "My sister." "No!" "No, I haven't heard anything." "I'll let you know when I do." "Yeah." "Bye." "I don't know what they're waiting for." "NASA stands for "Never absolutely sure of anything."" "Harrison Schmitt." "Yes, sir." "Yes, sir." "I will do the best job I possibly can." "Thank you." "Your drink, sir." "Gentlemen... to the exploration of the moon." "They might have rued the day that they made the change." "I always had some strong ideas... about where we were going on the moon... and forcefully suggested them." "Jack had no problem picking up the phone... and calling the President of the United States... if he had an idea about where or what... we should be doing with Apollo." " Like giving us that fourth E.V.A." " The fourth E.V.A." "Where we should land." "Flights rules were not going to be rewritten... just for me and Jack to make that last trip out." "Chris Kraft stopped me in the hallway one day... and he pretty much told me exactly how it was going to be." " Gene-o." " Yes, boss." " Want to put the white scarf away?" " Come again?" "Lose the throttle jockey act." "I got all the memos I need on Apollo 17." "All these ideas from you and your partner." "You want an extra E.V.A. On the moon?" "You're lucky you even have a mission." "Look." "A lot of people think we should quit while we're ahead." "The system's already stretched to the limit." "Jesus, we're so tight on weight constraints... we're talking about cutting the number of Band-Aids in the first aid kit." "Six Band-Aids instead of 12." "That's enough." "Here's your number one mission rule." "Tattoo this to your eyelids." "Don't take any chances." "Just come back alive." "All right, nice and easy." "With grace." "As he did with his theatrical productions..." "Monsieur Melies designed every aspect of his film... and was quite fanatical." "You must react with spirit and soul!" "When things went wrong... things went wrong, and he would scream." "These girls!" " Ladies, you were fine." " You're fired!" "I will." "You guys are fired." "When things were not so bad... he was not so bad." "This is how it is when you are working with a genius." "But it was not during the filming... that Melies worked his true magic." "It was later... in the laboratory and the projection room... where I saw he was up to something incredible... something that had never been seen before." "A complete, fantastic story... told in one marvelous film." "I don't know, boss." "So many cuts." "So much glue, I hope it holds." "If it doesn't work, no soup for you." "Well, that's all right." "It's lousy soup." " How dare you?" "Is it ready?" " Here goes." "There we are." "The intrepid voyagers." "Yes." "Wave to the assembled." "Climb into the projectile." "It is pushed into the cannon... by so many pretty maidens." "Yes, give us a wave." "Dissolves, superimpositions, double exposures." "Monsieur Melies was a genius." "Boss... you are a genius." "The cannon... ready to be fired, and boom!" "Roger!" "The clock has started." "We have liftoff." "Apollo 17 has turned midnight into dawn." "Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans and Harrison Schmitt... flying through the automated roll program of the spacecraft... begin America's..." "and perhaps all of mankind's... final voyage to the moon." "Three men inside the command module America... with the lunar module Challenger in tow... journey now to the moon." "Most of the world and much of America... views Apollo 17 as an undertaking... either commonplace or wasteful." "Regardless... to be here, once again, in the presence... of such glorious force... aimed at such a heavenly target as the moon... one can only marvel and ask..." ""How have we done this?"" ""How have we sent mankind to the moon?"" "Okay, Houston... as I step down to the surface at Taurus-Littrow..." "No one on the planet Earth saw Gene Cernan... first set foot on the moon's surface." "Nor Jack Schmitt." "Unbelievable!" "The Apollo 17 TV camera would not be operative... until the lunar rover was deployed and powered up." "When it was... crystal-clear video pictures from the surface of the moon... were transmitted to the world by way of a television camera... controlled from a console in Mission Control... by Ed Fendel." "With a lag of six seconds... the time it took for his commands to reach the moon... and the picture to travel back to Earth... he was the director of arguably... the most unique television show of all time." "The ratings were nonexistent." "The networks didn't even want to cover the mission... except on the morning shows... and an occasional update." "In July of 1969... the entire world stopped... to watch Buzz and Neil... and the one giant leap." "The picture was so bad, a lot of people couldn't even make it out." "12, the color camera went out so there was no TV." "No matter what they tried." "Apollo 13... was a news story unlike any other in history." "But it... takes nearly another year... for Al Shepard to practice his golf swing." "15 and 16 had the Rover... and the color camera." "But by this time... no one was watching." "They'd moved on to other things." "Color television from the moon... took a few moments of their time." "Nothing more." "Oh, bury me not" "On the lone prairie" "Where the coyotes howl" "And the winds blow free" "Okay, let's see." "Where am I?" "In a geologist's paradise, if I ever saw one." "I just snuck a quick peek at the drill, and it does work." "I just took time out for a snack of a little water." " What's that?" " That must be Ron." "Houston, you wanna tell Evans he's got his VHF on." "Oh, no, you won't believe it." "I did it again?" "Hit the wrong button on the gravimeter?" "No, there goes the fender." "I caught it with my hammer." "Oh, shoot." "Oh, golly." "Oh, boy." "I couldn't stop myself before the damage was done." "Oh, boy." "I'm gonna deploy this package here." "We're gonna have to stop here." "Let me try to get that fender back on." "Otherwise the dust will cover everything." " Is the tape under my seat?" " Yeah." "Oh, man." "Hey, Jack." "Just stop." "You owe yourself 30 seconds... to take a look up over the south massif... and look at the Earth." "You seen one Earth, you've seen them all." "That's the biggest difference between Jack and me." "Every spare second that I had..." "I was trying to take in everything that I was doing... everything that I was seeing." "I'm trying to grab another look up at the Earth... focusing on this great adventure... that I was living in time, in space, in reality." "I mean, there it was up there... surrounded by... nothingness." "The darkest black imaginable." "I could see that it was nighttime in England and lunchtime in Texas... with just a casual glance... as though I were a passenger... on a time machine with a big picture window in it... just looking out." "I just couldn't get enough of it." "I was looking at the rocks." "Our time was so limited... and the best instrument in the world for scientific observation... is a pair of trained eyes... and an educated brain to process information." "There we were." "This fantastic field site." "Well..." "I was looking at the rocks." "I mean, when you can see the layers of geologic history... that's what I was there for." "After extended problems with the gravimeter... and the lunar surface experiment package... and a time-consuming fix... to the broken fender of the Rover..." "Cernan and Schmitt were allowed to travel only half as far... as their first E.V.A. Had originally called for." "By the time they were back inside Challenger... and repressurized to five P.S. I... the two moon walkers had been outside... for seven hours and 12 minutes... almost three times longer... than all of Neil Armstrong's and Buzz Aldrin's exploration... of the Sea of Tranquility." "And Apollo 17 had two more moonwalks to go." "Rehearsing." "Here we are." "We've touched down on the moon." "Out, everyone." "Out quickly." "You're excited, can't believe where you are!" "It's amazing." "Look at this amazing scene." " The mountains." " Out they come." "Out." "Now, over here." "Raise your arm." "Raise up." "That's when we'll stop the grinder." " Stop the grinder there." " Can we move this?" "Come on!" "One, two, three." " Quickly, quickly." " Don't move." "Out comes the projectile." "It'll be faster, boss." "Don't worry." "All right, so raise your arm." "Raise your arm." "Good." "Don't move." "Keep up your arms." "And we will then start the grinder." "Get out of the way." "We want the grinder to see the Earth." " We're turning again." " We want the Earth rising... slowly... and let's drop the mountains." "Lower the first rail." "No, first the Earth begins to rise." "First the Earth rises!" "Then drop the mountains." "Then the mountains lower." "Earth rise, mountains lower." "It'll be perfect tomorrow, boss." "I guarantee it." "And ready volcano?" "Volcano!" "Boom!" "The volcano should be a little farther offstage." "Can you get it?" "Stop." "You're doing a lousy job and bitching for nothing." "We'll do that." "Now get up." "Stretch." "Here they are." "No, they will be, boss." "I promise." "I guarantee it." " They will be there." " Let will let us covers ourselves." "Special blankets for the moon." "Lay on the moon and dream of the star maidens." "And out they come, the star maidens." "When the sun is over the roof, we'll shoot the scene." "If we have the sun, boss." "Please, Lord, give us the sun." "Good morning, Challenger." "We have some special wake-up music for you... from the old folks of the LMP at Cal Tech." "Eight miles high" "Being commander has some advantages." "One of those is driving the Rover." "Every time I'd go down a hill, I'd put Jack on the downslope side." "Not once did Gene-o drive with me on the uphill side." "He usually only had three wheels on the surface... and me feeling like we were gonna tip over any minute." "Good eye." "For the second E.V. A..." "Cernan and Schmitt were well rested... and had the time-consuming chores behind them." "I think we've got another one coming here." "With ten stations scheduled... the pair drove off over five miles... from the safety of Challenger... with the single-minded task of doing as much work... in the allotted time as was humanly possible." "While the astronauts were in transit on the moon... there was no television signal." "In Houston, Flight Director Gerry Griffin... managed the activities through the voice contact... of Capcom Bob Parker... who tried to keep the astronauts on schedule." "Roland pitch should be fairly flat." "The F-stop for the 500 millimeter... should be the same as for the 70." "Gene, you might want to take some shots of those massifs... if they look interesting." "If they look interesting?" "What kind of thing is that to say?" "Bob, up frame count 36 is the outcrop... where the boulders at the top of the south massif..." "Oh!" "Hey, here's something different." "It's a chunk of yellow-brown rock... that apparently has several spots behind it." "To find a sample... with such a vivid color on the surface of the moon." "That would be evidence of volcanic activity... the one-time presence of water or oxygen." "It was exactly the kind of find... you'd want to make on a place like the moon." "Of course, it turned out it was too good to be true." "Oh, no." "What is that?" "Oh, that's a reflection." "Oh, that really fooled me." "It's a reflection off the mylar on the Rover." "I thought I had something there." "Crazy." "Well, what the heck?" "I'll sample it anyway." "SCB 32 Easy is just another small fragment." ""Just another small fragment."" "You bet that gave the guys in the geology backroom a jolt." "Seeing as how Jack was one of us... we never thought he would lie to us." "The hallmark of any geologist is impeccable integrity." "But that little episode... that had us going for a bit." "So what other things can reflect off the Rover up there?" "Does it have taillights?" " Hubcaps." " Maybe he left the parking lights on." "Don't do that to us again, Jack." "Okay, Shorty is clearly a darker-rimmed crater." "The inner wall is quite blocky... except for the western portion of it." "The floor is hummocky... as we thought it was in the Apollo 15 photographs." "If it had been a perfect world for us geologists..." "Jack would've had his own TV camera... just for the ground science team." "Come on, Gene." "Turn on the TV." "The central peak..." "if you will... or the central mound... is very blocky, very jagged." "And the impression I have... of the other mounds in the bottom... is that they look like slump masses that may have come off the side." " We got it!" " Thanks, Gene." "Now get out of the way." "Come on, Cernan." "Move!" "Parade around, Jack." "Grab us a sample of that sucker." "A very large boulder of very intensely fractured rock... right on the rim." "Where on the rim?" "We can't..." "It looks like a finely vesicular version... of our clinopyroxene gabbro." "It's obviously crystalline." "Do you have TV?" "Yes!" "We have TV." "And you might brush the lens for us... before you move out of the way." "I'm gonna take a quick pan while I'm waiting for you." "Okay." "Oh, hey." "There is orange soil." "There is orange soil here." "I knew by the tone of Jack's voice... that this orange soil was the real thing." "We just wanted to see it on the TV." "It's all over." "It's all over." " He said it's all over the place." " Zoom in!" " Pan." "Take a good look around." " Tell him to bring it to the camera." "Make sure that the sunlight's hitting it at the right angle." " It is." "I can see it from here." " It's orange." "Wait a minute." "Let me pull my visor up." "It's still orange!" "I'm gonna have to dig a trench here, Houston." "Boy, it's almost the same color as the LMP decal on my camera." "How can there be oxidized soil on the moon?" "It looks just like oxidized desert soil." "That's exactly right." "You know, that orange, it runs in a line, Gene-o." " Right along the rim crest." " What, circumferential?" "If there was anything that looked... like a fumarole alteration... this is it." "That's it!" "That's the volcanic event!" "The bad news was that the orange was not... a fumarole alteration, nor was it oxidized." "Now these were perfectly normal... preliminary assumptions to make... about an unexamined sample... but it turned out that it was orange volcanic glass... from a fire fountain that happened 3.5 billion years ago." "But that did not diminish anyone's excitement... about that find, or, frankly, its importance." "I think Jack and I did as solid an E.V. A... as anyone could have on that second time out." "Some of the best work ever done in all of Apollo." "There was one thing I really wanted to do out there though." "Well, it had to do with my daughter, Tracy." "Did he promise to bring you anything?" "Well, I asked him to bring a rock back from the moon..." "He said if he could, he would bring me one back." "And he said if he couldn't, he'd bring me a moonbeam." " A what?" " A moonbeam." "A moonbeam." "He's either pulling' your leg or you're pullin' mine." "That's what he said." "Before my father walked on the moon... he told me he was gonna do something very special up there." "He said he was going to carve my initials in the lunar dust... making me the only little girl with her name on the moon." "And that it would last for thousands and thousands of years." "Just like his footprints is what he'd say." "Of course, I was nine years old at the time... and I had very little concept of what he was talking about." "The moon is roughly five times the size of the continent of Africa." "In all, the Apollo missions spent more than 12 days on its surface... but less than three-and-a-half days actually exploring its mysteries." "In the 75 hours Challenger sat in the Taurus-Littrow Valley... the crew spent 24 hours of them in scheduled rest periods." "No, I didn't do much sleeping on the moon." "No." "No more than catnaps, really." "I was waking up every few hours." "I just couldn't do it." "Not that I sat up writing poetry or anything." "But the knowledge of being where I was... kept me up and looking around." "And it wasn't because I was scared or anything." "It was just the fact that I was actually trying to do something so fantastic... it made it impossible." "Jack, he slept like a baby... with the sweetest dreams you can imagine, I suppose." "Mankind's final day on the moon... came with the Earth's face having waned by 15%." "The day would bring the last seven hours of human footfall... on the face of another world." "The longer you stay on the moon, minute by minute... the better the chances are for something to go wrong." "Now I will tell you, without hesitation... even with there being nothing wrong at all... that last E.V.A. Was as anxious a time... as I ever spent in NASA." " That's affirmed." " Okay, here comes the hatch." " I can see daylight through it." " Okay, the hatch is full open." "With a stiff suit, I'm still at 4.5 P.S.I." "Okay, but I am out here on the porch." "Okay, I'm going down the ladder." "Godspeed, the crew of Apollo 17." "I remember my visit to Mission Control quite vividly... for it was the day I saw the impossible." "Oh, I knew the Americans had walked on the moon." "I had seen the pictures." "But the immediacy... of actually being there in Houston at the same time... it did something to my consciousness that had not yet happened." "It came at a moment... when the man operating the camera... turned it toward the Earth... and he zoomed in very slowly." "And the picture was..." "It was so good." "I could actually make out the oceans... and the continents and the clouds." "It suddenly hit me... that we were looking at ourselves." "It was as if our own eyes were on the moon... and somehow we could turn them around... and look back down and see everything we have... everything we know, everything we are... all at the same time." "I wanted to run outside and wave at the moon... and run back inside." "See if I could see myself." "Turning Point Rock was so named... because it was the station farthest away from the Challenger... on the final E.V.A. Of Apollo 17." "What looked like in orbit to be one huge boulder... that had skidded to a stop in the valley... was, in fact, five different boulders... each the size of a house." "The Turning Point is where I should have done it." "I thought later on, "If I had just put Tracy's initials on a boulder... that would have been an incredible picture."" "You know?" "T.D.C. In the lunar dust up there for the rest of time... but hell, I was so tired and so busy... the opportunity got away from me." "I don't think I can get to the top." "I just gotta get to a place... where I can get a pan from." "Okay, I think I'll save some water." "All right." "Back on intermediate." "That cools you off real fast." "Hey, there's Challenger." "Holy smoley!" "The lunar module was three miles away... and that was our home." "We were up on the side of the north massif working." "Just two lunchbox-totin' Joes." "You can talk all you want about what it's like to go to the moon... and to live and work on the moon." "I can tell you, I already did that." "I had a house up there." "I had a job." "I lived up there for three days." "You know, Jack, when we finish with station eight... we will have covered this whole valley from corner to corner." "That was the idea." "But I didn't think we'd ever really quite get to that far corner." "But we are going to make it." "Son of a gun, the commander just fell down." " You okay?" " Yeah, Commander's okay." "When you're tired, when you're close to being finished... and you think everything is going perfectly... and you got it made... that's when something terrible can happen." "That's when disaster can strike." "Another savage attacks and poof!" "And they escape the... and are about to leave the lunar surface." "Ah, danger." "Will they survive?" "Yes!" "They are led by Professor Barbenfouillis." "Monsieur Melies was on the precipice of celebrity and greatness... as well as getting very, very rich." "Poof!" "A savage of the other world disappears." "Poof again." "Poof." "And again." "As was his due, he had created..." "La Voyage Dans La Lune." "But then, it all came crashing down." "But they're on their way home... and splash in the ocean." "It goes deep, deep, deep, deep, and they come up." "Yes, they come up to the surface... and the navy brings them to safe harbor." "I'm going to take my movie in America." "Make a hundred prints of it, take them to the city of New York... book a theater and let words of my films spread... across this huge, rich land... and I will make a fortune out of this." "Poor Monsieur Melies." "He did not know that Le Voyage Dans La Lune... was already playing in America." "And he was not ever going to see a penny from it." "Agents of the American genius and thief, Monsieur Thomas Edison... had seen the film in London." "They bribed the theater owner... took the film into a lab... and made copy after copy after copy of it." "The film was a sensation in America." "A fortune was made off its exhibition." "None of it..." "not a penny... going into the pockets of Monsieur George Melies." "Within a few years... he was broke." " We should have TV." " We're gettin' TV there, Gene-o." " You getting it?" " We've got TV." "Well, let me take a look." "With the final E.V.A. Nearly completed..." "Gene Cernan drove the Rover... a few hundred feet away from the Challenger... to its final resting place... a parking spot where it still sits today." "He would need the clamps that held together the quick-fix fender... for inside the LM during ascent." "A good fender, he took back as a souvenir." "Pressed for time... and with a long walk back to the landing site... the commander of Apollo 17 stole the luxury... of a last look at his home on the moon... then performed one last, very personal task." "With Mission Control reminding him time was running out..." "Jack Schmitt hurried to prepare the last bags... filled with priceless lunar samples... for the long transport to Earth." "With the clock ticking and his life support... diminishing with every breath... the only scientist to ever walk on the moon... came to a melancholy realization." "His time there was over." "We need you in the LM in one-five minutes, 15 minutes... because of oxygen restraints." "I copy that." "I don't need my hammer anymore." "Tell them to move it along." "What we want you to do is dust and get in." "We got one-four minutes." "Let me throw the hammer." "Okay." "Let me throw the hammer, please." "It's all yours." "You deserve it." "You're a geologist." "You oughta be able to be the hammer thrower." " You ready?" " Go ahead." "Don't hit the LM." "Bob, this is Gene, and I'm alone on the surface." "That's why I'm the last man to walk on the moon." "Jack was already inside Challenger... so it was just me out there." "That last footprint on the moon, check it out." "It just happens to be my boot size." "And as I take man's last step from the surface... back home, for now... but we believe not too long into the future." "I'd just like to say what I believe history will record." "That America's challenge of today... has forged man's destiny of tomorrow." "And as we leave the moon at Taurus-Littrow... we leave... as we came... and God willing, as we shall return... with peace and hope... for all mankind." "Godspeed, the crew of Apollo 17." "Descent engine override." "Logic in." "Okay." "Rate scale:" "25 degrees per second." "Attitude translation:" "Four jets." "Four jets on." "Take your final look at the valley at Taurus-Littrow." "The TV camera on the Rover... was broadcasting live pictures... of Challenger's liftoff from the moon... making Ed Fendel... the most nervous man in all of NASA." "The camera on Apollo 15 wouldn't tilt up... to follow the ascent... and its commands for keeping Apollo 16... were too slow." "Now with one last chance... to televise the complete event... the pressure was on to pan and zoom the camera... several seconds before liftoff." "Otherwise the world would never see... a perfect TV picture of Apollo leaving the moon." "Engine arm is ascent." " I'm going to get the pro." " Roger." "Ninety-nine... proceed." "Three... two, one." "Ignition." "With the precision emblematic of its near flawless mission..." "Apollo 17 embarked from the moon for the sixth and final time... in the history of mankind." "The exploration of another world... was successfully and safely completed... thanks to the efforts and attention of those on Earth... who could only look on as vicarious participants... as the fantastic voyages came... to a bittersweet end." "When we were back inside the command module..." "President Nixon sent up a message... congratulating us on the last exploration of the moon... in this century." "Boy, that made me mad because we were just getting good at it." "The hardware had been proven, was getting even better... and yet we have not been back to the moon since 1972." "We should've continued right along." "The only reason we stopped going to the moon was politics." "Sending men to the moon is dangerous." "It's also expensive." "It's hard to do." "But we did it at the cost of more than just money." "If you have the time, I can list off the names... of a couple of hundred thousand people... who gave of themselves to make it happen... along with the names of dozens of people who gave their lives." "Understand... that the moon is what the Earth once was... before the ancient craters were erased by the wind... and the rain and the geologic forces." "As such, the moon is a time machine... that can take us back... and tell us what our home was once like... what it was made out of... and how it came to be... that we're all living here." "I wish..." "I had been living up there on the moon... these past 25 years... wandering around with my hammer and a sack... and a thermos or two of coffee." "I'm very glad to have been alive when we went to the moon." "I am of the generation that witnessed it... that actually saw it live on television." "And what we saw on television... from the forbidding and desolate surface of the moon... was our own world... both beautiful and troubled." "Standing on the moon, looking up at the Earth... you see that the promise and potential of our world... is as obvious as it is magnificent." "And for the people who live on that green and blue ball... there is no difficulty they cannot overcome... no solution they cannot grasp... no distance that they cannot travel." "Me standing in the valley of Taurus-Littrow... is proof of that." "What we learned about the moon... is not nearly as important as our going there." "Apollo 8." "Witnesses to the first earthrise... in the consciousness of man." "Apollo 17." "Gene Cernan takes that remarkable photo... of Jack Schmitt standing on the moon... with the Earth over his shoulder." "See, that's why we went to the moon." "To take those pictures." "We didn't go there to conquer it or claim it... or simply beat the Russians to it." "Sure, we wanted to find out what the moon was made of... to satisfy questions of science... that have plagued us since the dawn of man." "But more than anything else... we went to the moon... to see if we could make the journey... because if we can do that... if we can voyage... from the Earth to the moon... then there's hope for all of us... because we can do anything." "William Bradford, speaking in 1630... of the founding of the Plymouth Bay colony... said that all great and honorable actions... are accompanied with great difficulty." "And both must be enterprised... and overcome... with answerable courage." "If this capsule history of our progress... teaches us anything... it is that man... in his quest for knowledge and progress... is determined and cannot be deterred." "The exploration of space will go ahead." "Whether we join in it or not... we need to be a part of it." "We need to lead it." "For the eyes of the world... now look into space... to the moon and to the planets beyond." "Our leadership in science and industry... our hopes for peace and security... our obligations to ourselves... as well as others... all require us to make this effort... to solve these mysteries... to solve them for the good of all men." "There is no strife, no prejudice... no national conflict in outer space as yet." "Its hazards are hostile to us all." "Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind." "We choose to go to the moon." "We choose to go to the moon." "We choose to go to the moon in this decade... and do the other things... not because they are easy... but because they are hard." "Because that challenge is one that we're willing to accept... one we are unwilling to postpone... and one we intend to win."