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Fallen Astronaut - Monument placed on the moon in secret
On the northern hemisphere of the moon is a place called the Hadley Rille, a type of dry canal located west of a mountain range.
In this Rille is a small sculpture of an astronaut and a small plaque with the names of 14 astronauts and astronauts who died in the development of space.
This monument is called the Fallen Astronaut.
How did it get to the moon?
Who made it?
And who took it there?
Astronaut and sculptor
American astronaut David Scott is attending a dinner party before his mission to the moon aboard the Apollo 15.
Here he met Belgian painter and sculptor Paul Van Hoeydonck and the two talked for a while.
Finally, Scott asked Van Hoeydonck to create a figurine for him to place on the Moon.
Scott wants to commemorate all the astronauts and astronauts who died in improving space exploration to date.
Van Hoeydonck was given a set of design specifications by Scott: the sculpture must be light, able to withstand the extreme temperatures of the Moon.
This ranges from 260 ° F down to -280 ° F.
And it is not identified as male or female or as any identifiable ethnicity.
Separated from the sculpture, Scott designed and created a plaque listing the fourteen star sailors of the United States and the Soviet Union.
This includes the first man in space Yuri Gagarin - who has been dead until that point.
According to Scott, Van Hoeydonck's name is not made public, so he cannot commercially exploit the US government's space program, according to NASA policy.
Scott was allowed permission from NASA's top management to bring the small sculpture to space with him, though he kept it a secret until after he returned on his mission.
Apollo 15 and Scott's Secret Party Mission
On August 1, 1971, Scott was nearing the end of his mission on the surface of the Moon, when he secretly placed the fallen Astronaut statue and commemorative plaque on the bed of a dry canal.
He took photos of the monument and announced it in the press conference following his duties.
Scott then noted that there were two Soviet names missing on the plaque, as the Soviet space program was kept secret at the time.
Also missing is the name of Robert Henry Lawrence Jr., the first black astronaut who died in a training accident in 1967.
Argumentative
A year after the crew's press conference and their revealing about the memorial, Scott learned that Von Hoeydonck was planning to make and sell more sculptures.
Scott believes this violates the spirit of their agreement and NASA's policy on commercialization.
Scott was happy to suggest that Von Hoeydonck stop producing but he said no.
However, under pressure from NASA and all the astronauts, Von Hoeydonck decided not to sell - even though he built 50.
To this day, the Fallen Astronaut is still standing on the surface of the Moon and it will most likely be many years away, honoring all those who have fallen so that we can jump closer to the stars.
