Men on the Moon

Here is the list, in chronological order, of the twelve men who walked on the moon:

Neil Armstrong

Buzz Aldrin

Pete Conrad

Alan Bean

Alan Shepard

Edgar Mitchell

David Scott

James Irwin

John Young

Charles Duke

Eugene Cernan

Harrison Schmitt

Apollo 11 through Apollo 17, with the famous exception of Apollo 13, made successful lunar landings over a span just shy of three-and-a-half years. Six successful missions, averaging a landing every seven months or so. Armstrong and Aldrin, on Apollo 11, walked on the moon for two hours. Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt, on the final run, stayed for three days and motored the hell out of the lunar sand in that buggy over 22 miles.

Each Apollo mission was crewed by three men. One remained in lunar orbit while the other two descended to the surface to explore and complete mission objectives. Six missions, twelve men.

Cernan, the last man to touch the lunar surface, died a few days ago from an undisclosed illness. He is the sixth of the twelve to have passed on. The first was Jim Irwin, back in ’91, who died from a heart attack. Alan Shepard, the first American in space and commander of the Apollo 14 mission in 1971, died in ’98 after battling leukemia. Pete Conrad passed away the next year of injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash. Iconic Neil Armstrong died after complications from heart surgery in 2012. Then Edgar Mitchell, just about a year ago, under hospice care.

Rest in Peace, noble men.

Six remain who walked upon the moon. The oldest are Buzz Aldrin and John Young at 86, the youngest Charlie Duke and Harrison Schmitt at 81.

Now – fully privatize Space, and let’s get back to the moon before the Chinese!