Alan Bean
Encyclopedia
Alan LaVern Bean is a former NASA
astronaut
, engineer
, and painter
. Bean was selected to become an astronaut by NASA in 1963 as part of Astronaut Group 3. He made his first flight into space aboard Apollo 12
, the second manned mission to land on the Moon, at the age of thirty-seven years in November 1969. During this mission, Bean became the fourth human to walk on the Moon. He made his second and final flight into space before retiring aboard Skylab 3
in 1973, the second manned mission to the Skylab
space station
. After retiring from the United States Navy
in 1975 and NASA in 1981, Bean pursued his interest in painting, depicting various space-related scenes and documenting his own experiences in space as well as that of his fellow Apollo Program astronauts.
, the seat of
Wheeler County in the northeastern Texas Panhandle
. He is of Scottish
descent. As a boy, he lived in Minden
, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana
, where his father worked for the U.S. Soil Conservation Service. Bean graduated from R. L. Paschal High School
in Fort Worth
, Texas
. He received a Bachelor of Science
degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin
in 1955. At UT he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon
fraternity
(Omega Chi chapter). After a four year tour as a fighter pilot assigned to a jet attack squadron in Jacksonville, Fla., he trained as a Navy Test Pilot where his instructor was his future Apollo 12
Commander Pete Conrad
. He was awarded an honorary doctorate of science from Texas Wesleyan College
in 1972, and was presented an honorary doctorate of engineering science degree from the University of Akron
(Ohio) in 1974.
but was unsuccessful in securing an early Apollo flight assignment. He was placed in the Apollo Applications Program
in the interim. When fellow astronaut Clifton Williams
was killed in an air crash, a space was opened for Bean on the back-up crew for Apollo 9
. Apollo 12 Commander Conrad, who had instructed Bean at the Naval Flight Test School years before, personally requested Bean to replace Williams.
Bean was the lunar module pilot on Apollo 12
, the second lunar landing. In November 1969, Al Bean and Pete Conrad
landed in the Moon's Ocean of Storms—after a flight of 250,000 miles and a launch that included a harrowing lightning strike. Bean was the astronaut who executed John Aaron
's famous "Flight, try SCE to 'Aux'" instruction to restore telemetry after the spacecraft was struck by lightning 36 seconds after launch, thus salvaging the mission. They explored the lunar surface, deployed several lunar surface experiments, and installed the first nuclear power generator station on the Moon to provide the power source. Dick Gordon
remained in lunar orbit photographing landing sites for future missions.
Bean had planned on using a self-timer for his Hasselblad
camera in order to take a photograph of both himself and Pete Conrad while on the lunar surface near the Surveyor III spacecraft. Bean was hoping not only to record a wonderful photo, but also to confuse the scientists back home on how the photo could have been taken. However, neither he nor Conrad could locate the timer in the tool carrier tote bag while at the Surveyor III site and thus lost the opportunity. Bean did not locate the self-timer until the very end of the EVA when it was too late to use - at which point Bean threw it as hard as he could. Bean’s paintings of what this photo would have looked like (titled "The Fabulous Photo We Never Took") and one of his fruitless search for the timer ("Our Little Secret") are included in his collection of Apollo paintings.
Bean's Moon suit is on display in the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
in Fort Worth, Texas
.
, the second manned mission to Skylab
, July 29, 1973 to September 25, 1973. With him on the 59-day, 24,400,000 mile world record setting flight were scientist-astronaut Dr. Owen Garriott and Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Jack Lousma. During the mission Bean also tested a prototype of the Manned Maneuvering Unit
and performed one space walk outside the Skylab.
.
Bean retired from the Navy in October 1975 as a Captain but continued as head of the Astronaut Candidate Operations and Training Group within the Astronaut Office in a civilian capacity.
. Many of his paintings reside on the walls of space enthusiasts. He said his decision was based on the fact that, in his 18 years as an astronaut, he was fortunate enough to visit worlds and see sights no artist's eye, past or present, has ever viewed firsthand and he hopes to express these experiences through the medium of art. He is pursuing this dream at his home and studio in Houston.
As a painter, Bean wanted to add color to the Moon. "I had to figure out a way to add color to the Moon without ruining it," he remarked. If you look at his paintings, you will see the lunar landscape is not a monotonous gray, but shades of various colors. "If I were a scientist painting the Moon, I would paint it gray. I'm an artist, so I can add colors to the Moon." says Bean.
Alan Bean's paintings include "Lunar Grand Prix" and "Rock and Roll on the Ocean of Storms". He is the only artist in the world to use real Moon dust on his paintings. When he began painting, he realized that keepsake patches from his space suit were dirty with Moon dust. He adds tiny pieces of the patches to his paintings, which make them unique. He also uses the hammer used to pound the flagpole into the lunar surface as well as a bronzed Moon boot to texture his paintings.
Bean took a little piece of MacBean tartan
to the Moon.
Bean's in-flight Skylab diary is featured in "Homesteading Space," a history of the Skylab program co-authored by fellow astronauts Joseph Kerwin and Owen Garriott and writer David Hitt
, published in 2008.
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
, engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
, and painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
. Bean was selected to become an astronaut by NASA in 1963 as part of Astronaut Group 3. He made his first flight into space aboard Apollo 12
Apollo 12
Apollo 12 was the sixth manned flight in the American Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon . It was launched on November 14, 1969 from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, four months after Apollo 11. Mission commander Charles "Pete" Conrad and Lunar Module Pilot Alan L...
, the second manned mission to land on the Moon, at the age of thirty-seven years in November 1969. During this mission, Bean became the fourth human to walk on the Moon. He made his second and final flight into space before retiring aboard Skylab 3
Skylab 3
Skylab 3 was the second manned mission to Skylab. The Skylab 3 mission started July 28, 1973, with the launch of three astronauts on the Saturn IB rocket, and lasted 59 days, 11 hours and 9 minutes...
in 1973, the second manned mission to the Skylab
Skylab
Skylab was a space station launched and operated by NASA, the space agency of the United States. Skylab orbited the Earth from 1973 to 1979, and included a workshop, a solar observatory, and other systems. It was launched unmanned by a modified Saturn V rocket, with a mass of...
space station
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
. After retiring from the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in 1975 and NASA in 1981, Bean pursued his interest in painting, depicting various space-related scenes and documenting his own experiences in space as well as that of his fellow Apollo Program astronauts.
Early life
Bean was born in WheelerWheeler, Texas
Wheeler is a city in Wheeler County, Texas, United States, situated on the eastern edge of the Texas Panhandle. Both the city and the county are named for Royal Tyler Wheeler, a chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court. The population was 1,378 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Wheeler...
, the seat of
Wheeler County in the northeastern Texas Panhandle
Texas Panhandle
The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a rectangular area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east...
. He is of Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
descent. As a boy, he lived in Minden
Minden, Louisiana
Minden is a city in the American state of Louisiana. It serves as the parish seat of Webster Parish and is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish. The population, which has been stable since 1960, was 13,027 at the 2000 census...
, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, where his father worked for the U.S. Soil Conservation Service. Bean graduated from R. L. Paschal High School
R. L. Paschal High School
R. L. Paschal High School is a secondary school located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It is part of the Fort Worth Independent School District and descendant of the city's first secondary school, Fort Worth High School, which opened in 1882. Robert Lee Paschal, an attorney from North...
in Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. He received a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
in 1955. At UT he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon is a fraternity founded at Yale College in 1844 by 15 men of the sophomore class who had not been invited to join the two existing societies...
fraternity
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
(Omega Chi chapter). After a four year tour as a fighter pilot assigned to a jet attack squadron in Jacksonville, Fla., he trained as a Navy Test Pilot where his instructor was his future Apollo 12
Apollo 12
Apollo 12 was the sixth manned flight in the American Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon . It was launched on November 14, 1969 from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, four months after Apollo 11. Mission commander Charles "Pete" Conrad and Lunar Module Pilot Alan L...
Commander Pete Conrad
Pete Conrad
Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr. was an American naval officer, astronaut and engineer, and the third person to walk on the Moon during the Apollo 12 mission. He set an eight-day space endurance record along with command pilot Gordon Cooper on the Gemini 5 mission, and commanded the Gemini 11 mission...
. He was awarded an honorary doctorate of science from Texas Wesleyan College
Texas Wesleyan University
Texas Wesleyan University is a private, coeducational, liberal arts university founded by the United Methodist Church in 1890. The main campus is located in the Polytechnic Heights Neighborhood of Fort Worth, Texas, with branch campuses in Burleson and downtown Fort Worth.-History:Texas Wesleyan...
in 1972, and was presented an honorary doctorate of engineering science degree from the University of Akron
University of Akron
The University of Akron is a coeducational public research university located in Akron, Ohio, United States. The university is part of the University System of Ohio. It was founded in 1870 as a small college affiliated with the Universalist Church. In 1913 ownership was transferred to the City of...
(Ohio) in 1974.
Apollo
Bean was selected by NASA as part of Astronaut Group 3 in 1963 (having previously been rejected for Astronaut Group 2 the previous year). He was selected to be the backup Command Pilot for Gemini 10Gemini 10
-Backup crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 28.87°*Period: 88.79 min-Docking:*Docked: July 19, 1966 - 04:15:00 UTC*Undocked: July 20, 1966 - 19:00:00 UTC-Space walk:...
but was unsuccessful in securing an early Apollo flight assignment. He was placed in the Apollo Applications Program
Apollo Applications program
The Apollo Applications Program was established by NASA headquarters in 1968 to develop science-based manned space missions using surplus material from the Apollo program...
in the interim. When fellow astronaut Clifton Williams
Clifton Williams
This article is about the American astronaut. For the composer, see Clifton Williams .Clifton Curtis 'C.C.' Williams was a NASA astronaut, a Naval Aviator, and a Major in the United States Marine Corps who was killed in a plane crash; he had never been to space...
was killed in an air crash, a space was opened for Bean on the back-up crew for Apollo 9
Apollo 9
Apollo 9, the third manned mission in the American Apollo space program, was the first flight of the Command/Service Module with the Lunar Module...
. Apollo 12 Commander Conrad, who had instructed Bean at the Naval Flight Test School years before, personally requested Bean to replace Williams.
Bean was the lunar module pilot on Apollo 12
Apollo 12
Apollo 12 was the sixth manned flight in the American Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon . It was launched on November 14, 1969 from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, four months after Apollo 11. Mission commander Charles "Pete" Conrad and Lunar Module Pilot Alan L...
, the second lunar landing. In November 1969, Al Bean and Pete Conrad
Pete Conrad
Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr. was an American naval officer, astronaut and engineer, and the third person to walk on the Moon during the Apollo 12 mission. He set an eight-day space endurance record along with command pilot Gordon Cooper on the Gemini 5 mission, and commanded the Gemini 11 mission...
landed in the Moon's Ocean of Storms—after a flight of 250,000 miles and a launch that included a harrowing lightning strike. Bean was the astronaut who executed John Aaron
John Aaron
John W. Aaron is a former NASA engineer, and was a flight controller during the Apollo program. He is widely credited with saving the Apollo 12 mission when it was struck by lightning shortly after liftoff and played an important role during the Apollo 13 crisis, earning him the highly...
's famous "Flight, try SCE to 'Aux'" instruction to restore telemetry after the spacecraft was struck by lightning 36 seconds after launch, thus salvaging the mission. They explored the lunar surface, deployed several lunar surface experiments, and installed the first nuclear power generator station on the Moon to provide the power source. Dick Gordon
Richard F. Gordon, Jr.
Richard Francis Gordon, Jr., Captain, USN, Ret. is a retired NASA astronaut. He is one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon.-Military and flight experience:Gordon was born in Seattle, Washington...
remained in lunar orbit photographing landing sites for future missions.
Bean had planned on using a self-timer for his Hasselblad
Hasselblad
Victor Hasselblad AB is a Swedish manufacturer of medium-format cameras and photographic equipment based in Gothenburg, Sweden.The company is best known for the medium-format cameras it has produced since World War II....
camera in order to take a photograph of both himself and Pete Conrad while on the lunar surface near the Surveyor III spacecraft. Bean was hoping not only to record a wonderful photo, but also to confuse the scientists back home on how the photo could have been taken. However, neither he nor Conrad could locate the timer in the tool carrier tote bag while at the Surveyor III site and thus lost the opportunity. Bean did not locate the self-timer until the very end of the EVA when it was too late to use - at which point Bean threw it as hard as he could. Bean’s paintings of what this photo would have looked like (titled "The Fabulous Photo We Never Took") and one of his fruitless search for the timer ("Our Little Secret") are included in his collection of Apollo paintings.
Bean's Moon suit is on display in the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History is located on 1600 Gendy Street, Fort Worth, Texas 76107 in the city's Cultural District. It was opened in 1945 as the Fort Worth Children's Museum and moved to its current location in 1954. In 1968, the museum adopted its current name...
in Fort Worth, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
Skylab
Bean was also the spacecraft commander of Skylab 3Skylab 3
Skylab 3 was the second manned mission to Skylab. The Skylab 3 mission started July 28, 1973, with the launch of three astronauts on the Saturn IB rocket, and lasted 59 days, 11 hours and 9 minutes...
, the second manned mission to Skylab
Skylab
Skylab was a space station launched and operated by NASA, the space agency of the United States. Skylab orbited the Earth from 1973 to 1979, and included a workshop, a solar observatory, and other systems. It was launched unmanned by a modified Saturn V rocket, with a mass of...
, July 29, 1973 to September 25, 1973. With him on the 59-day, 24,400,000 mile world record setting flight were scientist-astronaut Dr. Owen Garriott and Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Jack Lousma. During the mission Bean also tested a prototype of the Manned Maneuvering Unit
Manned Maneuvering Unit
The Manned Maneuvering Unit is an astronaut propulsion unit which was used by NASA on three space shuttle missions in 1984. The MMU allowed the astronauts to perform untethered EVA spacewalks at a distance from the shuttle. The MMU was used in practice to retrieve a pair of faulty communications...
and performed one space walk outside the Skylab.
Post-flight experience
On his next assignment, Bean was backup spacecraft commander of the United States flight crew for the joint American-Russian Apollo-Soyuz Test ProjectApollo-Soyuz Test Project
-Backup crew:-Crew notes:Jack Swigert had originally been assigned as the command module pilot for the ASTP prime crew, but prior to the official announcement he was removed as punishment for his involvement in the Apollo 15 postage stamp scandal.-Soyuz crew:...
.
Bean retired from the Navy in October 1975 as a Captain but continued as head of the Astronaut Candidate Operations and Training Group within the Astronaut Office in a civilian capacity.
Bean as an artist
Bean resigned from NASA in June 1981 to devote his full time to paintingPainting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
. Many of his paintings reside on the walls of space enthusiasts. He said his decision was based on the fact that, in his 18 years as an astronaut, he was fortunate enough to visit worlds and see sights no artist's eye, past or present, has ever viewed firsthand and he hopes to express these experiences through the medium of art. He is pursuing this dream at his home and studio in Houston.
As a painter, Bean wanted to add color to the Moon. "I had to figure out a way to add color to the Moon without ruining it," he remarked. If you look at his paintings, you will see the lunar landscape is not a monotonous gray, but shades of various colors. "If I were a scientist painting the Moon, I would paint it gray. I'm an artist, so I can add colors to the Moon." says Bean.
Alan Bean's paintings include "Lunar Grand Prix" and "Rock and Roll on the Ocean of Storms". He is the only artist in the world to use real Moon dust on his paintings. When he began painting, he realized that keepsake patches from his space suit were dirty with Moon dust. He adds tiny pieces of the patches to his paintings, which make them unique. He also uses the hammer used to pound the flagpole into the lunar surface as well as a bronzed Moon boot to texture his paintings.
Personal life
He is married and has two grown children, a son and a daughter.Bean took a little piece of MacBean tartan
Tartan
Tartan is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in many other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland. Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns...
to the Moon.
Books
- My Life As An Astronaut (1989)
- Apollo: An Eyewitness Account (with Andrew ChaikinAndrew ChaikinAndrew Chaikin is an American author, speaker and space journalist. He currently lives in Vermont.He is the author of A Man on the Moon, a detailed description of the Apollo missions to the moon...
) (1998) - Into the Sunlit Splendor: The Aviation Art of William S. Phillips (with Ann Cooper, Charles S. Cooper and Wilson Hurley) (2005)
- Mission Control, This is Apollo: The Story of the First Voyages to the Moon (with Andrew Chaikin) (2009)
- Painting Apollo: First Artist on Another World (2009)
Bean's in-flight Skylab diary is featured in "Homesteading Space," a history of the Skylab program co-authored by fellow astronauts Joseph Kerwin and Owen Garriott and writer David Hitt
David Hitt (author)
William David Hitt is an American author specializing in spaceflight history.Hitt is co-author of Homesteading Space, a history of the Skylab program, with NASA astronauts Owen K. Garriott and Joseph Kerwin. Homesteading Space was published in 2008 by the University of Nebraska Press as part of its...
, published in 2008.
Popular culture
- The Rock band HefnerHefner (band)Hefner were a British indie rock and "urban folk" band formed in east London in 1995. They were active from about 1996 until 2002; since then they have played together only once, for a tribute to the DJ John Peel, who was a strong supporter of theirs....
has a song called "Alan BeanAlan Bean (song)"Alan Bean" is a single by British indie rock band Hefner. It was released on three formats by Too Pure in 2001.The title song is about astronaut Alan Bean, who was the fourth person to walk on the Moon...
", featuring the lyrics "Everyone will forget soon, The fourth man on the Moon, But I've got it in my mind." Bean appeared by telephone on a recording of a DutchNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
radio show on the VPROVPROThe VPRO was established in the Netherlands in 1926 as a religious broadcasting organization. Falling under the Protestant pillar, it represented the Liberal Protestant current...
broadcasting organisation when the band was performing in AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and talked with them shortly after the song's release. - British band Lemon JellyLemon JellyLemon Jelly is a British electronic music duo from London, formed in 1998. Since their inception, the band's line-up has included Fred Deakin and Nick Franglen. Lemon Jelly has been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and BRIT Awards....
features the voice of Alan Bean (describing the sunrise, as seen during a spacewalk) in their song "Spacewalk" from the album Lost HorizonsLost HorizonsLost Horizons is the second album release from Lemon Jelly, released in October 2002. The album produced two charting singles in the UK, "Space Walk" and "Nice Weather for Ducks". It was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2003...
. - Swedish singer-songwriter Stina NordenstamStina NordenstamStina Nordenstam is a singer, songwriter and musician.-Career:Nordenstam's voice led to early comparisons with artists such as Rickie Lee Jones and Björk. Her early albums, Memories of a Colour and And She Closed Her Eyes were jazz-influenced with elements of alternative rock...
has a song called "The Return of Alan Bean" on her 1991 debut album Memories of a ColourMemories of a ColourMemories Of A Colour is the debut album by Swedish singer-songwriter Stina Nordenstam, released in 1991 ....
. - Bean was on The Late Late Show with Craig FergusonThe Late Late Show with Craig FergusonThe Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson is a Peabody Award-winning American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish American comedian Craig Ferguson. Ferguson, the third regular host of the Late Late Show franchise, follows Late Show with David Letterman in the CBS late-night lineup...
on August 21, 2007. - Bean is one of the astronauts profiled in the PBS documentary In the Shadow of the MoonIn the Shadow of the MoonIn the Shadow of the Moon is a 2006 British documentary film about the United States' manned missions to the Moon. It premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the World Cinema Audience Award. In March 2008, it was the first film to win the Sir Arthur Clarke Award for Best Film...
. - Bean is one of the astronauts profiled in the documentary The Wonder Of It All.
- An entire episode of the miniseries, From the Earth to the Moon was narrated from Bean's perspective; in the episode, he was portrayed by Dave FoleyDave FoleyDavid Scott "Dave" Foley is a Canadian comedian, writer, director, and producer best known for his work in The Kids in the Hall, NewsRadio, A Bug's Life, and Celebrity Poker Showdown...
. - Bean was interviewed by lunar landing conspiracy theorist Bart SibrelBart SibrelBart Winfield Sibrel is a Nashville, Tennessee-based filmmaker who advances the conspiracy theory that the six Apollo Moon landings between 1969 and 1972 were hoaxes. He has filmed two documentaries on the subject: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon and Astronauts Gone Wild.-Dealings...
for his documentary, Astronauts Gone WildAstronauts Gone WildAstronauts Gone Wild is a 2004 film made by Bart Sibrel, an amateur filmmaker from Nashville, Tennessee, United States who charges that the six Apollo moon landings in the 1960s and 1970s were elaborate hoaxes...
. Bean was one of the astronauts who agreed to swear on the Bible that he had walked on the Moon. - Bean appears as a character in the book Cosmic by Frank Cottrell BoyceFrank Cottrell Boyce-Awards:*2004: Buch des Monats des Instituts für Jugendliteratur/Book of the Month by the Institute for Youth Literature , Millions*2004: Carnegie Medal, Millions*2004: Luchs des Jahres , Millions...
External links
- Alan Bean Online Gallery - An authorized gallery of all his paintings
- Alan Bean Astronaut Bio - NASA's biography of Bean
- Official publisher website for Homesteading Space