Fallen Astronauts Plaque and Sculpture at Southeastern Mare Imbrium

Summary: On Aug. 2, 1971, Apollo 15 Commander Scott and lunar module pilot Irwin left the Fallen Astronauts plaque and sculpture at southeastern Mare Imbrium.

closeup of plaque and sculpture, commemorating 14 deceased NASA astronauts and USSR cosmonauts, placed in lunar soil by Apollo 15 Commander “Dave” Scott and “Falcon” lunar module pilot “Jim” Irwin, Monday, Aug. 2, 1971: NASA, Public Domain, via NASA Spaceflight

Moongazers may remember that Aug. 2, 2016, marks the 45th anniversary of the placing of the Fallen Astronauts plaque and sculpture at southeastern Mare Imbrium by Apollo 15 Commander David Scott and lunar module pilot James Irwin.

On Monday, July 26, 1971, Apollo 15 was launched at 9:34 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (13:24 Coordinated Universal Time) from Kennedy Space Center at Merritt Island, east central Florida, as NASA's ninth manned mission to the moon. On Friday, July 30, 1971, after undocking at 18:13:16 UTC (2:13 p.m. EDT) from Command and Service Module (CSM) Endeavour, the Lunar Module (LM), named Falcon, descended to the lunar surface. At 22:16:29 UTC (6:16 p.m. EDT), LM Falcon touched down in the Hadley-Appenine region at the southeastern edge of Mare Imbrium on the near side of the moon.

The Hadley-Appenine region lies west of the rugged Montes Apenninus and east of the Hadley Rille, a sinuous channel-like depression. LM Falcon's landing site was on a dark mare, or lava-flooded plain, named Palus Putredinis (“Marsh of Decay”).

The third and last of three extravehicular activities (EVAs) took place Monday, Aug. 2, the Apollo 15 mission's third and last day on the lunar surface. EVA 3 took place northwest of the landing site, at the edge of Hadley Rille.

EVA 3 began at 8:52:14 UTC (4:52 a.m. EDT) and ended at 13:42:04 UTC (9:42 a.m. EDT). EVA 3's duration spanned 4 hours 49 minutes 50 seconds.

Before returning to LM Falcon via the rover, Commander David Randolph “Dave” Scott (born June 6, 1932) and LM Falcon pilot James Benson “Jim” Irwin (March 17, 1930-Aug. 8, 1991) placed a commemorative plaque listing 14 deceased astronauts. The Fallen Astronaut plaque is formatted as an alphabetical listing of eight NASA astronauts and six Soviet cosmonauts.

At around 13:17:36 UTC (9:17 a.m. EDT), Commander Scott placed a 3.375-inch (8.5-centimeter) aluminum statuette in front of the plaque. In accordance with Commander Scott's design specifications, Belgian painter and printmaker Paul Van Hoeydonck (born Oct. 8, 1925) had created the stylized statuette specifically for the lunar tribute.

Before leaving the site, Commander Scott photographed the Fallen Astronaut plaque and sculpture in the lunar soil.

The plaque comprises an alphabetical listing of the Fallen Astronauts. The plaque honors eight NASA astronauts:
Charles Arthur “Charlie” Bassett II (Dec. 30, 1931-Feb. 28, 1966);
Roger Bruce Chaffee (Feb. 15, 1935-Jan. 27, 1967);
Theodore Cordy “Ted” Freeman (Feb. 18, 1930-Oct. 31, 1964);
Edward Galen “Ed” Givens, Jr. (Jan. 5, 1930-June 6, 1967);
Virgil Ivan “Gus” Grisson (April 3, 1926-Jan. 27, 1967);
Elliot McKay See Jr. (July 23, 1927-Feb. 28, 1966);
Edward Higgins “Ed” White II (Nov. 14, 1930-Jan. 27, 1967);
Clifton Curtis “C.C.” Williams Jr. (Sept. 26, 1932-Oct. 5, 1967).

The plaque honors six Soviet cosmonauts:
Pavel Ivanovich Belyayev (June 26, 1925-Jan. 10, 1970);
Georgiy Timofeyevich Dobrovolsky (June 1, 1928-June 30, 1971);
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin (March 9, 1934-March 27, 1968);
Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov (March 16, 1927-April 24, 1967);
Viktor Ivanovich Patsayev (June 19, 1933-June 30, 1971);
Vladislav Nikolayevich Volkov (Nov. 23, 1935-June 30, 1971).

The Fallen Astronaut plaque and sculpture are sited on the edge of the Mare Imbrium, a vast basaltic lava plain in the northwestern hemisphere of the near side of the moon. Mare Imbrium ("Sea of Showers") is a lunar feature that is visible to unaided eyes on Earth. The darkened feature, which lies, from a moon-based perspective, on the right side of the lunar disk is familiar to moongazers in the Northern Hemisphere as the Man in the Moon's right eye.

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. houses a replica of the Fallen Astronaut statuette. The donation by artist Paul van Hoeydonck reminds viewers of the first and only artwork placed on the moon.

The takeaway for the Fallen Astronauts plaque and sculpture at southeastern Mare Imbrium is that the Man in the Moon's right eye hosts the resting place of the Fallen Astronauts plaque and sculpture.

Mare Imbrium, site of Fallen Astronaut plaque and sculpture, serves as the Man in the Moon's right eye, from moon-based perspective, or left eye, from Earth-based perspective; Thursday, Dec. 24, 2015, 16:13: Bard Anton Zajac, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

closeup of plaque and sculpture, commemorating 14 deceased NASA astronauts and USSR cosmonauts, placed in lunar soil by Apollo 15 Commander “Dave” Scott and LM (Lunar Module) Falcon pilot “Jim” Irwin, Sunday, Aug. 1, 1971: NASA, Public Domain, via NASA Spaceflight @ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/apollo/apollo15/html/as15-88-11894.html

Mare Imbrium, site of Fallen Astronaut plaque and sculpture, serves as the Man in the Moon's right eye, from moon-based perspective, or left eye, from Earth-based perspective; Thursday, Dec. 24, 2015, 16:13: Bard Anton Zajac, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Man_in_the_Moon_-_24_Dec_2015_-_original.jpg

For further information:

“Apollo 15 Mission.” USRA Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) > Lunar Science and Exploration Portal > Lunar Mission Summaries > Apollo 15 Mission > Landing Site.
Available @ http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_15/landing_site/

“Apollo Imagery.” NASA Human Spaceflight > Gallery > Images > Apollo > Apollo 15.
Available @ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/apollo/apollo15/html/as15-88-11894.html

Eveleth, Rose. “There Is a Sculpture on the Moon Commemorating Fallen Astronauts.” Smithsonian Magazine > Smart News. Jan. 7, 2013.
Available @ http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/there-is-a-sculpture-on-the-moon-commemorating-fallen-astronauts-358909/?no-ist

Fuller, David. “Moon Maps.” Eyes on the Sky.
Available @ http://www.eyesonthesky.com/moon

Granath, Bob. “Fallen Astronauts Honored on Day of Remembrance.” NASA > Feature > NASA History. Jan. 28, 2016.
Available @ https://www.nasa.gov/feature/fallen-astronauts-honored-on-day-of-remembrance

Jones, Eric M. “Mission Summary: Mountains of the Moon.” NASA > Apollo Lunar Surface Journal > Apollo 15 Lunar Surface Journal > Mission Summary. Last revised Nov. 6, 2012.
Available @ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a15/a15.summary.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “June 2016's Waning Gibbous Moon Shows Mare Imbrium in Lunar Southwest.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, June 22, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/06/june-2016s-waning-gibbous-moon-shows.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “May 2016's Waning Gibbous Moon Shows Dark Mare Imbrium.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, May 25, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/05/may-2016s-waning-gibbous-moon-shows.html

Powell, Corey S.; Laurie Gwen Shapiro. “The Sculpture on the Moon.” Slate > Science > The State of the Universe. Dec. 16, 2013.
Available @ http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/12/sculpture_on_the_moon_paul_van_hoeydonck_s_fallen_astronaut.html

Scott, David; Alexei Leonov. Two Sides of the Moon: Our Story of the Cold War Space Race. New York NY: Thomas Dunne Books, 2004.

“Sculpture, Fallen Astronaut.” Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum > Collection Objects.
Available @ https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/sculpture-fallen-astronaut?object=nasm_A19860035000