Moon Mission: Apollo 12
Role: Lunar Module Pilot
Brief Bio: Alan LaVern Bean was an American naval officer, aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, NASA astronaut, and painter, born on March 15, 1932, in Wheeler, Texas. Selected as an astronaut in 1963, he became the fourth person to walk on the Moon and later pursued a career in painting, focusing on space-related scenes.
Did you know: Alan Bean took a piece of Clan MacBean tartan to the Moon during the Apollo 12 mission and returned it to Earth, later giving parts of it to the Clan MacBean and the St Bean Chapel in Scotland.
Afterward: After retiring from NASA in 1981, Bean devoted his time to painting, creating works that depicted space experiences and incorporated materials like Moon dust.
Key Statements: "But I'm the only one who can paint the Moon, because I'm the only one who knows whether that's right or not."
