Nice story, but I had to read to the end to find out who Chaikin is. I had no idea what the artical was about until the very end. I almost did not finish reading it. Maybe everyone knows who he is there, but I am in Australia and don't know him.

Chaikin's book is a great in-depth read on the Apollo program. The astronauts actually say they learn about Apollo by reading it. You know a writer/interviewer when you see one. Chaikin at 12 years old in the picture is so focused on asking questions he doesn't even stop for the picture to be taken.

Normally I would be opposed to sending men to the moon again. If we are going to explore space, I'd rather see the money spent on better telescopes and sending un-manned vechiles with sensors out there.

This is less expensive, and for the money we get a lot more knowledge back. The days of the Unites States getting excited and inspired by sending people into space are past.

However the moon has on its surface a mineral known as tritium, and from what I have read, using it may be our best hope of obtaining nucler fusion, and if my understanding is correct, it will probably be economical to mine the moon for tritium, even given the high cost of space travel.

Of course I remember the days surrounding the moon landing. I was aboard the USS Hornet. I worked in the ships store. During the landing on July 20th we listened to the landing from the barber shop on the PA system. What a great time in mans history to be part of the recovery of the Apollo 11 crew. The ships crew were buttons saying Hornet Plus Three. On the Apollo 12 recovery our buttons said, Three More Like Before.
The Hornet is now a museum in Oakland Calif. Any one can go on board and see this great WW II carrier.
The recovery crew is having a 40th reunion this month with special guest Buzz Aldrin.
The ship is at the old Alameda Air station.
There were several crew members from Utah on board the Hornet at the time of splash down for Apollo 11 and 12.

Jay Moore, Uss Hornet crew member May 1968 thru January 1970.

waiting in that parking ot or the astronauts (pre-moon walk) to cme out and say hello to my son, was ne of the great times of my life. He shwed them hhis sketch f the satellite and Alan Bean,now his great friend, gave him a diagram of the space capsule. It was one of his great moments, thogh he waas then nly twelve. The friendshipe culminated in a ook they reently pulished toether, owith Bean, now a painter, adding his great paintings to andy's text. I wrote a story about tthat time, and it was publlished in "the Best AmericAN SHORT STORIES' for 1975. It, like the meting at the Cape, provided a high point for sAndyh and me alike...

It was a highlight in andy's life and in mine, as his mother. I will never forget how it felt, waiting in the cold for andy's idols, who had not yet walked on the moon. alan Bean becme his great friend and has recenty isllustrated a book with him. Bean is now a fine painer...As for me, I wrote a story about that thrilling time and it appeared in "The Great Shorthott 'Storiess of 1975" there have been many books based on Andy's passion for space, but his first one "A Man on the Mpon' has commemorated that wonderful passion in both our lives. I continue to follow his exploits and books with great maternal pride!

For my wife and I, July 20, 1969 is the day the world celebrates the two of us meeting each other for the first time! As a park ranger at Grover Hot Springs State Park in my home town of Markleeville, California, I was about to enter the women's bathroom to clean it when she walked out. She was almost 16 and I was 19. After my shift, I went home, and was able to watch the lunar landing with my family. I still remember watching those first steps onto the moon. It was a humbling experience. Later that evening, I went back to the State Park, found the campsite where that pretty girl's family was camped, and the rest they say is "history"!