FLAGSTAFF FESTIVAL OF SCIENCE Apollo Astronaut Taking Flagstaff to the Moon and Beyond: By Bonnie Stevens The 10th and youngest man to ever walk on the Moon envisions a base camp, observatory and rocket launching pad on the lunar surface. “We’re going to want to see people going and exploring more,” said General Charlie Duke. “The human heart is meant to explore.” The Apollo 16 astronaut was so appreciative of the Flagstaff scientists and community that helped him prepare for his 1972 mission that he and Commander John Young named a Moon crater in Flagstaff’s honor. Near their Lunar Highlands landing spot is “Flag Crater,” a name that remains today. “I found Flagstaff to be one of the most interesting places that we visited to study geology. I loved the people, the San Francisco Peaks and the beauty of the area.” Duke also visited Meteor Crater and hiked the Grand Canyon as part of his training. “With the astrogeology branch of the USGS [in Flagstaff] helping us, we felt well-qualified to describe the rocks we found on the Moon and pick up the right ones. I loved all those guys!” Duke and Young practiced maneuvering a Moon buggy prototype over rough volcanic terrain and in and out of a simulated crater field north of town. “The suspension provided a lot smoother ride than we had on the Moon! The practice rover on Earth was 800 to 900 pounds and a lot more stable. The one on the Moon only weighed 80 pounds. The thing bounced around a lot!” Decades after his history-making flight, Duke is following his tracks back to Northern Arizona to launch the 2019 Flagstaff Festival of Science, “To the Moon and Beyond,” as the W. L. Gore and Associates Keynote Presenter. Free tickets are available at the
photo courtesy of NASA
Northern Arizona University Central Ticket Office (nau.edu/cto; (928) 523-5661) for his 7 p.m., Friday, Sept. 20 presentation in Ardrey Auditorium. The Flagstaff Festival of Science is celebrating its 30th anniversary, Sept. 20 - 29, 2019, offering more than 100 free activities. Find the full program at www.scifest.org.
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