Astronomy Wise June Ezine

stronomy Wise June 2012 Edition Issue 5 



BIS Northern meeting– York

The Night Sky

www.Astronomy-Wise.com

Interview 

Jenny Winder



Saturn's Moon Enceladus



In The News



Sun Spots



The Race To the Moon

Astronomy Wise

Welcome to another edition of the Astronomy Wise newsletter. June proves to be an exciting month with history being made. This month is a chance to see a once in a lifetime astronomical event, the transit of Venus.

Last month (May) we witnessed a large sun spot. So for this edition we are going to have a look at sun spots.

We also have an interview with Jenny Winder also known as Astrojenny on twitter.

Jenny will give us an insight into her work writing for various websites and broadcasting on Under British Skies.

Image: Ray Gilchrist Twitter: @RayGil

http://www.raygilchrist.co.uk/solar.html

Newsletter Credits:

2012 June 5th-6th Transit of Venus

Design: Edward Dunn Editor: Dave Bood Writer: Jason Ives & Dave Bood Images: Ray Gilchrist, James Lennie, Christopher Almey & NASA

Image By James Lennie— Jupiter

Twitter @james_lennie James’s comments Jupiter through Avistack and managed 654 frames to stack. 6" Refractor and Canon 500d

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Astronomy Wise

Features

A Journey to Enceladus

Enceladus

This month Saturn is still in our night sky, so following on from Titan Last month , we are going to have a brief look at Enceladus.

BIS Meeting York The Race To The Moon Sun Spots Men On The Moon Jenny Winder Interview News form the WWW The Night Sky

(en-sell-ah-dus)

In Greek mythology Enceladus was a titan who was defeated in battle and buried under mount Ento by Athena (nineplanets).

Enceladus was discovered by Herschel in 1789.

Now an interesting fact about Enceladus is that it is the most reflective object in our solar system with an albedo bond value of 0.99. For those who do not know the albedo value is the amount of light reflected by an object.

Voyager 1 discovered that this moon, orbits in the most densest part of Saturn’s diffuse E Ring.

Voyager 2 found while the moon is small it has a

wide range of terrains.

The terrain features some heavily created areas and newly formed ice which could be less than 100 million years old.

In 2005 the spacecraft Cassini did some close flybys and revealed more of the surface and environment in greater detail. One such discovery was a water rich plume venting from

the moons Southern polar region. Cassini also discovered an Internal heat source coming form the same region. The spacecraft as shown that Enceladus is geologically active. This is possibly caused by tidal forces acting on the moon which are similar to those acting on Jupiter’s moon Io. Enceladus may prove to be a great interest so scientists in the field of astrobiology.

Facts Source: NASA Mean Radius 247 Km Equatorial Circumference 1584 km Volume 7,113,076 km3 Mass 1.0794 x 1020 kg Surface Area 798,648.27 km2 Surface gravity 0.113 m/s2 Orbit Velocity 45,487.3 km/h

Below NASA: Falsecolour Cassini image of jets in the southern hemisphere of Enceladus

Astronomy Wise

The British Interplanetary Society Northern meeting York 19/5/12 With an early start for a Saturday morning, my wife, 2 sons and me drove from Bridlington to York City. The event doors opened at 9:00am, this gave us plenty of time starting off at 07:30 to get to York, get lost and finally find the venue. The venue was held at the Priory Street Centre which comes off Micklegate.

The event was Co hosted between the BIS and York Astronomical Society with Mr. Gurbir Singh (BIS) taking the lead as the main host. First up was Dr. J R Cain talking about Lunar Dust: The Hazard and Astronaut Exposure Risks.

This was an interesting subject . We all have the romantic image of landing on the moon and moon walks, but do we ever think about all the dust on the moons surface? Do we think of the impact on humans and equipment of this cosmic bombarded lunar dust. Dr Cain put together a well received presentation and I was lucky enough to obtain his paper published online October 2010. Following on was a talk by David Woods on “How Apollo Flew To The Moon”. Again we had an interesting and informative talk, David again put across the issues and problems the Apollo missions experienced from day to day tasks such as going to the toilet.

After the lunch break we had a talk by Mike Hall (FBIS) ON “China Long March to Tiangong”. Mike was called in at short notice to deliver his presentation, he gave us an insight into China’s space explorations and some history into modern China.

Mr. Gurbir Singh gave us an insight into the BIS and a presentation on its founding members and a brief history of the society. Finally Martin Dawson who is a member of the York Astronomical Society gave an entertaining talk on German Rocket Development.

I would like to thank all those involved with the presentations and running the event myself and my family enjoyed the day….

Dr John Cain

Astronomy Wise

Annular Eclipse Toyama may 2012

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The Race To The Moon John F. Kennedy John F.Kennedy was passionate in the race for space, more importantly, the race to prove that America was far superior in every way to the Russians. In 1957 the Russians beat the Americans in that race. From then on it was a race to the moon. Kennedy felt that America had been humiliated by the Russians and was determined, at all costs, that they would not be beaten to the moon. Sadly he never got to witness the landing of Apollo 11 and Neil and Buzz walking on the moon and the other missions that followed and the dramas that came with them, all of which I firmly believe would never have happened if not for Kennedy's passion and belief that America was the greatest nation on the planet and his determination to prove it by sending a man to the moon. Over the next few years Kennedy traveled the country giving many speeches, in football stadia, schools and in government, trying to convince and create support for what he believed would be the greatest step for man kind. I have put this article together to give a little insight into how he got his way. So, Why this speech in Houston? There’s more here than just a speech in a football stadium. Kennedy was working to save the space initiative, and to make America more secure. In his quest, Kennedy lays out the reasons why they needed a strong science research program funded by the federal government. Below is part of the speech Kennedy made at Rice University, Houston, Texas in 1962. In his quest, Kennedy lays out the reasons why they needed a strong science research program funded by the federal government. " 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, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation many never come again. But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas? 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 goal will serve to organise and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too. " President John F. Kennedy (1961-1963) awoke on April 12, 1961, to the news that the Soviet Union had won the race to put a man into space.

Kennedy immediately met with Vice President Lyndon Johnson in the White House to discuss the embarrassment of the Soviets beating America again. “Can we put a man on the moon before them?” Kennedy asked. A few weeks later, Kennedy challenged the nation to “commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth.” Kennedy challenged Congress and the imaginations of all Americans a few weeks later, when on May 25, in a special Joint Session of Congress, he proposed a Moon exploration program. In a speech outlining defence and foreign policy needs to make the U.S. secure and safe against threats from Soviet communism, or any other nation or faction, Kennedy spoke openly about the space race that had been waged since October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union became the first nation on Earth to orbit an artificial satellite, Sputnik.

This is a draft of what Kennedy told Congress in that part of the speech: " Finally, if we are to win the battle that is now going on around the world between freedom and tyranny, the dramatic achievements in space which occurred in recent weeks should have made (Continued on page 7)

clear to us all, as did the Sputnik in 1957, the impact of this adventure on the minds of men everywhere, who are attempting to make a determination of which road they should take. Since early in my term, our efforts in space have been under review. With the advice of the Vice President, who is Chairman of the National Space Council, we have examined where we are strong and where we are not, where we may succeed and where we may not. Now it is time to take longer strides–time for a great new American enterprise–time for this nation to take a clearly leading role in space achievement, which in many ways may hold the key to our future on earth.

I believe we possess all the resources and talents necessary. But the facts of the matter are that we have never made the national decisions or marshalled the national resources required for such leadership. We have never specified long-range goals on an urgent time schedule, or managed our resources and our time so as to insure their fulfilment.

Recognising the head start obtained by the Soviets with their large rocket engines, which gives them many months of lead time, and recognising the likelihood that they will exploit this lead for some time to come in still more impressive successes, we nevertheless are required to make new efforts on our own. For while we cannot guarantee that we shall one day be first, we can guarantee that any failure to make this effort will make us last. We take an additional risk by making it in full view of the world, but as shown by the feat of astronaut Shepard, this very risk enhances our stature when we are successful. But this is not merely a race. Space is open to us now; and our eagerness to share its meaning is not governed by the efforts of others. We go into space because whatever mankind must undertake, free men must fully share.

I therefore ask the Congress, above and beyond the increases I have earlier requested for space activities, to provide the funds which are needed to meet the following national goals: First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.

We propose to accelerate the development of the appropriate lunar space craft. We propose to develop alternate liquid and solid fuel boosters, much larger than any now being developed, until certain which is superior. We propose additional funds for other engine development and for unmanned explorations–explorations which are particularly important for one purpose which this nation will never overlook: the survival of the man who first makes this daring flight. But in a very real sense, it will not be one man going to the moon–if we make this judgment affirmatively, it will be an entire nation. For all of us must work to put him there. " The race was on, the Soviet Union’s massive rocket engines gave them a decided advantage.

Kennedy’s challenge captured the imagination of Americans and America and the necessary money flowed from Congress, but not in a completely free flow. Some opposed the nation’s efforts in space exploration because they thought spending on space exploration was distracted from the nation’s defence efforts. Kennedy continued to stress the connection between space exploration and defence. He was backed by successes Alan Shepard who had successfully launched into space and returned safely and on February 20, 1962, pilot John Glenn orbited the Earth three times, catching the U.S. up almost to where the Soviet Union was in manned space exploration.

Kennedy understood that constant attention, the constant selling of the space program would be necessary, so in September 1962 he found himself in Houston, the newly-designated home of the manned space program, and he took the opportunity to cast the American goals in the space race as peaceful, good for all mankind, and definitely worth the massive costs.

Notice in how he casts putting a man on the Moon in league with other great achievements of civilisation, notice too how he relates space exploration to practical applications then in existence, such as communication, navigation of ships at sea, and weather forecasting. This was years before

geosynchronous satellites were used for everyday telephone conversations, years before quantum theory was harnessed for Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and mobile phones, before the newly-invented printed circuits were miniaturised to make computer calculating a possibility in space — the Moon landing was done with slide rules and hand calculations.

Just over 14 months later Kennedy was killed in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963.

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed the Eagle Lunar Module on the Moon, at the Sea of Tranquillity. A few hours later, on July 21, they stepped out on the Moon. From Kennedy’s speech to Congress, the task had taken 8 years, one month and 26 days.

Buzz Aldrin on the Moon, with Neil Armstrong, the U.S. flag, and the Eagle Lunar Module reflected in his helmet visor, July 21, 1969

Written by Jason Ives Image Below:

Ray Gilchrist

Image: (above) Christopher Almey (Bridlington)

Image Left: James Lennie 10" Reflector and Canon 500D FL1200mm

Sunspots by Dave Fun

Sunspots are temporary features that appear on the photosphere of the sun.

Depending on their size, they can last from a couple of days to a couple of weeks.

Sunspots are magnetic regions which normally form in groups with two sets of Spots. These will have a positive or north pole and a negative or south pole.

Magnetic fields are stronger in the darker areas which are called the umbra and the lighter areas have a weaker magnetic field called the penumbra.

(Solar Science) Viewing from earth sun spots appear dark, this is because in terms of the sun they are cooler than the surrounding photosphere. The photosphere temperature Is about 5700 K where the centre of the sun spot drops to about 3700 K. Some Sun Facts Diameter 1.4 million km : Effective temperature 5,500째 c (5777K)

Ref: solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov

Images Special thank you to Ray Gilchrist who kindly gave us permission to use this image

http://www.raygilchrist.co.uk/

Bood

Image Dave Bood Summer 2011

Astronomy Wise

Lets Talk…….Jenny Winder This months interview comes from the world of tweeting, blogging, article writing and broadcasting. Jenny has a keen interest in astronomy and a passion for developing her knowledge via the open university education system. I first became aware of Jenny’s work via twitter and have found her tweets and articles interesting . I am pleased Jenny has agreed to share a bit of her life with us so without any more delay , the Jenny Winder Interview AW: When did you first become interested in Astronomy?

JW: When I was 5 years old my father showed me Saturn through a telescope and I was hooked for life. I could already recognise three stars of Orion's belt , Cassiopeia and The Plough, but seeing Saturn for the first time was jaw dropping. Unlike any other object in the sky, Saturn's rings mean you have a real sense of a 3 dimensional planet, suspended in space. It never fails to thrill me and remains my

favourite target to this day.

AW: Are you a member of any Astronomical groups or societies?

JW: I'm ashamed to say that I am not! Before I got my first scope I did visit a few star parties to try out different equipment and would recommend that to anyone starting out, but since then I have pretty much gone it alone.

AW: Have you studied at college/University in

sciences or astronomy?

submitted the last piece

JW: I am hopelessly

of work, my fingers start

addicted to the Open

itching to flick through

University and have

the prospectus again and

taken just about every

pick my next course!

astrophysics course they

AW: What current

have to offer! All their

projects are you

courses should come with

working ?

a health warning! I

JW: I have been promis-

always swear this one

ing myself for years that

will be my last, especially

I will take the leap into

when I am struggling

astrophotography. This is

with a tricky assignment

a huge step for me, I am

or end of course assess-

a total technophobe! No

ment, but once I have

GoTo scopes or motor

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Astronomy Wise

Lets Talk…….Jenny Winder drives for me. I am

AW: Tell us about your

happy with my 10”

writing and broadcasting?

dobsonian or a pair of

JW: I am currently one of the presenting team on Under British Skies for Asronomy.FM Radio (the only 24-hour internet radio station in the

binoculars and my terrestrial photography is usually over exposed, out of focus, heads cut off and my thumb over the lens! But this year I plan to bite the bullet and so am looking around for a

known universe, dedicated to astronomy in particular and science in general) and I am also very proud to be writing for Universe Today and I contribute monthly starguides for various online publications, most , notably for Urban Times.

Image: Jenny Winder

good 'astrophotography for idiots' course.

AW: What is Under British skies about?

UBS is a monthly round-up of UK and European astronomy news, views and interviews. We also cover all major UK based astronomy events. It first came on air in February 2010 and is broadcast live every 3rd Sunday of each month, at 8pm (GMT). The presenting team comprise Richie Jarvis, Paul Harper, Nick Evetts, Iain Melville, Nick Howes, Sam Hawkins and myself.

Listeners can join

the online chatroom, where the team post links to illustrate the topics discussed and where listeners can post comments and questions to the team during the show. The shows are great fun to do! There is a lot of banter & good natured leg pulling.

Astronomy Wise

Lets Talk…….Jenny Winder AW: What do you like most about Astronomy?

Simply looking up. Being able to find an object in the sky, know what it is, what it is called, how it got there and something of the processes involved in making our universe really excites me. People often say the stars make them feel insignificant, but to go out to a dark sky site and look up, let the enormity of the universe in I find incredibly empowering.

JW: What other hobbies do you have?

I play harp and sing and love all types of music. The other thing my father did for me when I was 5, the same year he got me hooked on astronomy, was to take me to see my first opera, Puccini's Madam Butterfly at Covent Garden. Music has been

a huge part of my life ever since then. I read constantly too and feel undressed without a book in my hand. I also enjoy needlework.

And finally the last few words from Jenny………

I was born in London and lived there till I was 30, working in publishing. Then I moved to the South Coast, where I ran various pubs and music clubs and met and married my Husband and where our two children were born, now both teenagers.

My Husband is a Yorkshireman and we moved back here 12 years ago. I am a prolific poster on Twitter, Facebook and Google+

Useful Links http://astronomy.fm/under-british-skies/ www.universetoday.com/ www.theurbn.com/author/jenny-winder/

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Astronomy Wise

News from the World Wide Web In the News The big news in May was the first commercial space flight to the ISS. Hawthorne, CA – Today, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) made history when its Dragon spacecraft became the first commercial vehicle in history to successfully attach to the International Space Station. Previously only four governments – the United States, Russia, Japan and the European Space Agency – had achieved this challenging technical feat.

(Space X website)

The Transit of Venus: June 5-6, 2012 ScienceDaily (May 28, 2012) — Many astronomers and members of the public in Britain will be getting up early on the morning of June 6, so they can see (using precautions to avoid permanent eye damage)* the final Transit of Venus of the 21st century. The Transit, when Venus passes directly between Earth and the Sun, was last seen in 2004 and will not happen again until the year 2117.

Image Top: 2004 transit of Venus : Source Wikipedia Image Bottom: Space X spaceship: Source NASA

The Night Sky In June 2012 The Moon (time Universal Time) 4TH FULL MOON 11:12

11TH LAST QUARTER 10:41

19TH NEW MOON 15:02

27TH FIRST QUARTER 03:30

CALENDER JUNE 2012 1ST

5am Saturn 5° N of the Moon

3rd

1pm the Moon is at perigee

4th

11am full moon

5th

6am Neptune Stationary

6th

Venus is in inferior conjunction and in transit

10th

5am Neptune is 6° S of the Moon

11th

11am last quarter of the Moon

12th

Pallas 0.8° S of the Moon

13th

1am Uranus is 5° S of the Moon

15th

6am Venus is 4° N od Aldebaran

17th

8am Jupiter is 1.1° of the Moon

18th

Venus 2° S of the moon

19th

New moon

20th

Summer Solstice

21st

6pm Mercury is 5° S of Pollux and at 7pm 6° N of the moon

24th

Asteroid (18) Melpomene is at opposition Mag +9.4

26th

9am Saturn stationary 3pm Mars 6° N of the moon

27th

4am first quarter moon, Venus stationary

28th

12pm Saturn is 6° N of the moon

29th

3pm dwarf planet Pluto is in opposition

The Planets Re-published with permission from an original post by Derek Shirlaw (www.derekshirlaw.co.uk) Keep an eye out for Mercury which is visible to the west just after sunset for the first week or so of June. Venus is now heading towards partially and very briefly intersecting our view of the Sun and come June 5th it’ll be in transit across the star at the centre of our solar system. For the rest of the month, it’ll become difficult to see as it’ll be up during daytime when sunlight drowns out any visible reflected light from the planet’s surface. Gaze upwards before dawn and you might see Jupiter. The gas giant can be spotted just before sunrise to the east. It’s getting harder to spot with the increasingly lighter nights, but if you can find the constellation of Leo this month before it sets, you’ll be able to find Mars. Saturn remains in the constellation of Virgo, close to the bright star Spica, but it too will be low to the southwestern horizon by darkness. If you’re looking to find the outermost planets Uranus and Neptune you’ll need the help of a telescope as these aren’t visible to the naked eye.

MEN ON THE MOON THE LUCKY LANDERS

John F.Kennedy had a dream that America would be the first nation to launch a man into space. In 1957 his dream was dashed with news that Russia had placed Yuri Gagarin into the history books. Frustrated by this but not deterred, he set his sights on an American being the first to the Moon at all costs. After years of pressing and countless speeches trying to gain the bottomless pit of funding, Kennedy got his dream realised, sadly, 6 years after his death. This article is a brief insight into America's dream team, who because of Kennedy's dream, made history.

First: Neil Armstrong. Neil was launched into space twice, firstly on board Gemini viii and then as commander of Apollo 11. Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon and spent a total of 21hrs 31mins on the surface of the Moon.

Second: Buzz Aldrin. Buzz was launched into space twice, firstly on board Gemini vii and then as cosmos-naught on board Apollo 11.

Even though buzz was the second man to step foot on the Moon, Buzz was the most famous man first photographed on the moon as Neil was the man behind the camera. He spent a total of 21hrs 31mins on the moon.

Third: Pete Conrad. Pete was a four times traveller into space, first on board Gemini 5 and then 11, but then followed Neil as the commander of Apollo 12 and spent a total of 31hrs-31mins on the lunar surface. He was also a member of Skylab 4. Pete famously said as he set foot on the Moon " That might have been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one for me " Forth: Alan bean. Alan was the lunar module pilot for Apollo 12 and was also a member of Skylab 3. Most notably, Alan is the only artist to have visited the Moon. Alan was on the lunar surface for 31hrs-31mins Fifth: Alan Shepard. Alan only travelled into space twice. Firstly with freedom 7 and then as commander of Apollo 14. Alan was originally scheduled to be the commander of Apollo 13 which famously met with difficulties, maybe if this had never happened, the lunar program might never have continued. Alan was also the first man to play golf on the Moon. Al Shepard spent a total of 1d 9hrs 31 on the Moon. Most famously Alan was the first American in space.

Sixth: Edgar Mitchell. Having served as a back up to other crews and being cancelled from Apollo 13, Edgar finally made the big Step on Apollo 14, serving as lunar module pilot. Edgar spent a total of 1d 9hrs 30 mins on the Moon.

Seventh: David Scott. David was lucky enough to travel into space three times, Gemini VIII, Apollo 9 and then Apollo 15. David's place in lunar history is firmly set as he was the first man to drive on the Moon, the lunar rover. He also conducted an experiment aimed at proving Galileo's theory. He conducted an experiment by dropping a hammer and a goose feather at the same time, which undoubtedly proves what Galileo said but most importantly, because the experiment was filmed, that they were on the moon, why?, simply because the hammer and the feather land on the surface at the same time!

Eighth: Jim Irwin. Jim only travelled once into space on board Apollo 15 as lunar module pilot. He spent a total of 2d 18hrs 54mins on the Moon.

Ninth: John Young. John is by far the most travelled of the lunar astronaut, or any since having flown into space six times. Gemini 3, Gemini 10, Apollo 10, Apollo 16, STS-1, STS-9. John spent 2d 23hrs 2mins on the Moon .

Of all astronauts, John holds the record for having the lowest heart rate during a launch into space at a mere 70bts per minute.

Tenth: Charlie Duke. Charlie only travelled once into space and that was to the Moon on board Apollo 16 and spent 2d 23hrs 2mins on the surface. Charlie most famously was Capcom on Apollo 11, after Neil Armstrong said those famous words Charlie replied " Roger Tranquillity, we copy you down. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue...we're breathing again" Eleventh: Gene Cernan. Gene flew in space three times, Gemini 9, Apollo 10 and finally as commander of Apollo 17. Gene spent 3d 2hrs 59mins on the moon and famous for being the last man to stand on the Moon.

Twelve: Harrison Schmitt. Harrison flew only once into space on board Apollo 17. Apollo 17 was the final mission to the Moon and how appropriate that they took the first geologist on its last flight, this besides, Harrison took one of the most famous photographs in history, the " Blue Marble " picture of the earth.

He spent 3d 2hrs 59mins.

All twelve came from a highly technical background and all but one studied aeronautical or astronautically engineering. Growing up, many had been Boy Scouts and even more were active members of their University fraternities. They all went on to study for further degrees – many at military test pilot schools – and almost all of them saw active service in cold war skies, often flying nuclear weapons behind enemy lines. These high-risk professions often claimed the lives of those to the left and right of them and frequently it was only luck that kept them alive long enough to apply to NASA. We might expect such parallel lives in men picked through a selection process devised to seek out "the right stuff", but despite the similarities in their CVs, no two of these men were from the same mould, as became evident in the years after the Apollo missions.

The Daring Dozen: Neil Armstrong was born in Ohio in 1930. His path to the moon began in 1949 while he was studying aerospace engineering, when he was called up by the US Navy. He flew 78 combat missions in Korea before returning to finish his studies. Armstrong became a test pilot in 1955 and then joined NASA in 1962 as part of its second astronaut intake. He had only spent 10 hours in space when he was selected as commander on the Apollo 11 lunar mission. In the summer of 1969 he became the first man to walk on the Moon and the only civilian to walk on the moon as Neil had left military service. Following Apollo 11

Armstrong announced that he did not plan to fly in space again. He left NASA in August 1971

and taught for eight years at the University of Cincinnati. His

authorised biography First Man was

published in 2005, setting straight many of the rumours and myths that had emerged over the decades.

Buzz Aldrin was born in 1930 in New Jersey. His father was an aviation pioneer and instilled in him a

lifelong love of flying. He went on to join the

US Air Force, flying 66 combat missions in Korea and

carrying nuclear

weapons under his wing during the cold war. Unlike the other astronaut candidates

Aldrin was not a test pilot and believed his only chance of

being

selected was to study the emerging field of orbital rendezvous.

It worked and in 1963 he joined NASA's third intake of astronauts. He was soon known affectionately as Dr Rendezvous. Twists of fate and a talent for problem solving propelled him onto the crew for Apollo 11 and in July 1969 he co-piloted the first landing on the moon. Aldrin didn't enjoy the limelight that followed and later admitted he would have preferred to put his scientific talents to greater use on a later, less historic flight. Alcoholism and depression plagued the next 15 years of his life. But in the mid-1980s he

returned to orbital

mechanics, devising what became known as the Aldrin cycler, a spacecraft

trajectory that he

believed could lead the first manned mission to Mars.

Charles 'Pete' Conrad was born in 1930 in Pennsylvania. As a student he battled dyslexia, but was obsessed with flying and obtained his pilot's licence before leaving high school. After graduating in aeronautical engineering from Princeton, he joined the US Navy and became a flight instructor. He was rejected by NASAs at his first attempt in 1959 because he rebelled against the barrage of medical tests, but was admitted after his second try in 1962.

By the time he flew to the moon as the

commander of Apollo 12,

Conrad was one of Nasa's most experienced astronauts. He returned to space on Skylab 2, spending 28 days in orbit in 1973. Beyond NASA, Conrad entered the aerospace industry and worked for a number of companies, including McDonnell Douglas. He died on 8 July 1999 in a motorcycle crash and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Alan Bean was born in 1932 in Texas. From an early age he was fascinated by aircraft, filling his bedroom with models and dreaming of fictional heroes like Buck Rogers. Spurred on by his mother, he won a university scholarship to study aeronautical engineering and went on to become a naval aviator, a job he considered the coolest in the world until he saw Al Shepard flying in a rocket. The event fuelled Bean's ambition to become an astronaut and ultimately catapulted him into NASA on his second attempt in 1963. He considered himself to be one of the more fearful astronauts, but luck and his good friend Pete Conrad I intervened and plucked him from obscurity to fly to the moon on Apollo 12. He stayed on at Nasa

after Apollo and returned to space on the

Skylab 3 mission, spending almost two months in orbit in 1973.

Bean retired from Nasa in 1981 and has devoted himself to painting ever since. Looking back on his Apollo days he says he feels lucky. "Someone had to go, and they happened to pick me."

Alan Shepard was born in November 1923. He became the second person to fly into space on 5 May 1961, less than a month after Yuri Gagarin's historic flight. Unlike Gagarin, who parachuted the last few thousand feet to Earth as planned, Shepard rode his craft right back to the surface and splashed down in the Pacific, technically making him the first man to fly all the way into space and back. As a US Navy test pilot he'd logged over 8,000 hours of flying time, and was selected as one of Nasa's (Continued on page 21)

(Continued from page 20)

original Mercury 7 astronauts in 1959. Following America's first historic manned spaceflight, Shepard was diagnosed with Meniere's disease which removed him from flight status for several years.

Corrective surgery eventually cleared him to fly on Apollo 14 in 1971. At the age of 47, he became the oldest astronaut to step onto the moon. Alan Shepard retired from Nasa in August 1971. After a two-year battle with leukaemia he died on 21 July 1998. Edgar Mitchell was born in Texas in 1930.

When he was a child, a barnstormer landed on his parent's farm and took him up for a ride. The sense of freedom he felt on that first flight spurred him on to gain his own pilot's licence by the age of 14. Mitchell's attention turned to space after the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957 and he was seconded from the Navy to Nasa in 1966. Serving as backup pilot for Apollo 10, he later was assigned to the mission scheduled as Apollo 13, but which got switched to Apollo 14 at the last minute – winning him a walk on the moon. Of this experience he says he found the lunar surface a welcoming place, and in his exhilaration at first stepping onto the surface he joked: "I think they put champagne in the water."

It was on the way back that his life changed when he had an epiphany that he describes as "bliss – almost like being in love". The experience inspired him, after retiring from Nasa in 1972, to set up the Institute of Noetic Sciences, which conducts and supports research into areas that more mainstream scientists do not entertain, such as psychic events.

David Scott was born in Texas in June 1932. At the age of three, after seeing his father flying a Jenny biplane in formation, he became hooked on flight. Pushed hard by his step-father he won a scholarship to West Point and distinguished himself in 1954 by finishing 5th out of 644 students. He elected to join the US Air Force, flying cold war fighter jet missions over Europe and later studying at MIT. He applied to Nasa in 1966 and joined group three. During the next five years he flew the most missions of this group. In 1971 he became the seventh man on the moon when he commanded the first full science expedition, driving the first rover vehicle into the lunar highlands.

On returning to Earth Scott hoped his mission had inspired those who watched from Earth – reminding us at his press conference that "the mind is a fire to be ignited, not a vessel to be filled".

Through his work on the film sets of Apollo 13 and other movies he has continued to ignite fires in millions more minds ever since.

James Irwin was born in March 1930 in Pennsylvania. He joined the US Air Force after university and graduated from the prestigious Aerospace Research Pilot School in 1963. Despite being involved in a plane crash in 1961 in which he almost lost a leg, Irwin qualified as an astronaut in 1966 and went on to land on the moon with Dave Scott in 1971. Due to long working hours and the dehydration Irwin suffered on this mission he had a minor heart attack near the end of the day they left the moon. Resting during the return flight he made a good recovery, but he suffered a bigger heart attack a few months later. On the moon Irwin says he felt God's presence and after retiring from Nasa in 1972 he founded his High Flight Ministry.

In 1991, Jim Irwin suffered a third and fatal heart attack near his home in Colorado, becoming the first of the moon walkers to pass away John Young was born in California in September 1930. As a child, he avidly read books about space and idolised the likes of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. He holds the distinction of being the most experienced astronaut of the 20th century having flown two Gemini missions in Earth orbit and flown

twice to the moon, although he only landed once, on Apollo 16. He almost flew to the moon a third time when Gene Cernan suffered a sporting injury a few months before Apollo 17.

After Apollo, he went on to command the first space shuttle flight to orbit the Earth in 1981 and flew a second shuttle mission in 1983. Including the lunar rover he has 'piloted' a record five different types of spacecraft. Despite his distinguished career, Young was critical of Nasa after the Challenger Disaster in 1986 and was subsequently removed from active astronaut status. But he stayed on until he retired at the age of 74 and still supports human spaceflight operations there today. Of the moon he says that every time he looks at it he still can't believe we're not going back.

Charlie Duke was born in October 1935 in North Carolina. As a boy he loved Wild West films, but he always saw himself as a flying ace – craving the speed. He joined the Air Force in 1957 and flew dangerous cold war sorties over Europe before becoming a research test pilot, flying the legendary F-104 Starfighter to the edge of space. In April 1966 he was selected for Nasa's fifth group of astronauts and, after key mission control roles supporting Apollo's 10, 11 and 13, he made his one and only spaceflight on Apollo 16 in 1972, becoming the youngest man to walk on the moon at the age of 36.

Duke retired from Nasa in 1976 and became a successful businessman before realising that his path in life led in another direction. His turning point came at a bible study class near his home in Texas, where Duke opened his mind to Christianity. He has devoted his life since to spreading the teachings of Jesus. Of Apollo, Duke says "my walk on the moon only lasted three days but his walk with God is forever."

Eugene Cernan was born in Chicago in March 1934. As a child he was fascinated by the black-and-white Movie tone newsreels that played in the cinema's during the second world war. He loved the reports about brave US pilots and he knew he wanted to join their ranks. He trained as a fighter pilot at Miramar, later known as the Top Gun School.

But when Al Shepard became the first American in space Cernan realised he had to be an astronaut.

He joined Nasa in its third astronaut intake in 1963 to work on Gemini and Apollo. On his Gemini flight Cernan performed a difficult and pioneering spacewalk during which he became dangerously overheated. But his greatest challenge came in 1972 when he commanded Apollo 17, becoming the last person to walk on the moon (since he was the last to re-enter the module) He retired from Nasa in 1976 after the Apollo-Soyuz test programme and went into private business. On his place in history he says: "Here I am at the turn of the millennium and I'm still the last man to have walked on the moon, [it's] somewhat disappointing. It says more about what we have not done than about what we have done."

Harrison "Jack" Schmitt was born in New Mexico in July 1935. He is the only man to have walked on the moon but never served in the military. Following in his father's footsteps he studied geology and then went on to work at the US Geological Survey's Astrogeology Centre at Flagstaff, Arizona. When Nasa began to recruit "scientist astronauts" in 1964, Schmitt was one of the first to be admitted.

From the start, the scientist astronauts were seen as outsiders who were non-essential in the race to the moon. But Schmitt worked tirelessly to enthuse the other astronauts about geology and got his own chance to practise lunar fieldwork on his Apollo 17 flight in 1972. He resigned from Nasa in 1975 to run for election as a senator for New Mexico, winning and serving a single term before his

defeat in 1982. Since then he has worked as a consultant in business, geology and space exploration. He is a persistent advocate of returning to the lunar surface, declaring: "We owe the future of humankind another walk on the moon."

As you can tell from this brief insight into the lives of these heroic men, each held the same passion for flight from being young boys, and through sheer tenacity, went onto fulfil the ultimate dream as adults, the Moon. Ultimately how they lived there lives after Apollo was as different as each man, but there is one burning question that they all still possess, those still with us, "when will we be going back? " My personal view is a mixed one, but is based simply on the premise of the original race. What if the Russians suddenly announced that they were planning on a mission to the Moon, what if the Chinese suddenly decided the same or even The European Space Agency. NASA has said on numerous occasions that the cost of going back outweighs the benefits, and the fact that they have been there already, so they have nothing to gain. I say no to this, if these nations announced the intention of a new venture to the Moon, NASA would bust a gut at all costs to get back there, First, again no-matter what the costs.

Just one final ditty to leave you with, the Space Shuttle was first launched in 1981. Given this crafts capabilities and payload capacity, why did NASA not use the Shuttle to go back to the moon and

possibly establish a base. They built a space station using the Shuttle, why not take it further and take an even bigger step for mankind. I don't believe that one nation alone should go, I think that as we have and use the International Space Station as a world, why not pool our global technologies-resources, and return together, not as one nation but as the human race.

Many thanks Jason Ives Sources: Jason Ives, NASA, The encyclopaedia Britannica and Christopher Riley( author of the Haynes manual to Apollo ) Images: via Google images and NASA

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