“Unveiled Secrets: The Touching Tribute on the Moon That Honors 14 Astronauts and Their Untold Stories”
Imagine leaving a token of remembrance on the moon—a place where only a handful of humanity has set foot—yet, that’s precisely what happened over 50 years ago. During the Apollo 15 mission in 1971, astronauts David Scott and James Irwin planted a heartfelt memorial in honor of 14 fallen space heroes, both from NASA and the USSR. This wasn’t just any plaque; it was a poignant tribute, inscribed in the dusty lunar soil. It makes you think, doesn’t it? What kind of cosmic messages are we sending into the void, and who will remember us when we are gone? With each name etched carefully into the plaque, we are reminded of the sacrifices made in the name of exploration. So, let’s dive into this touching story that connects us to the brave souls who dared to reach for the stars! LEARN MORE.
A plaque left on the moon over 50 years ago has a heartbreaking backstory.
Across nine Apollo missions, a total of 24 astronauts have been to the moon, with 12 of them walking on its surface.
But it was during Apollo 15, back in 1971, that two astronauts laid a very special memorial to remember their fallen colleagues.
The commemorative plaque was left on the moon back in 1971, during Apollo 15, in memory of 14 NASA astronauts and USSR cosmonauts, who had sadly died in previous years.
Just next to the plaque also lies a tiny figurine, representing each astronaut.
NASA explain: “Their names are inscribed in alphabetical order on the plaque. The plaque was stuck in the lunar soil by astronauts David R. Scott, Apollo 15 commander, and James B. Irwin, lunar module pilot, during their lunar surface extravehicular activity.”
The astronauts represented on the plaque are as follows:
- Charles A. Bassett II
- Pavel I. Belyayev
- Roger B. Chaffee
- Georgi Dobrovolsky
- Theodore C. Freeman
- Yuri A. Gagarin
- Edward G. Givens Jr.
- Virgil I. Grissom
- Vladimir Komarov
- Viktor Patsayev
- Elliot M. See Jr.
- Vladislav Volkov
- Edward H. White II
- Clifton C. Williams Jr.
The plaque remembers 14 astronauts (NASA)
Apollo 15 set off on 26 July 1971, with a number of different objectives, including exploring the Hadley-Apennine region of the moon, setting up and activating surface experiments, making engineering evaluations and conducting lunar experiments.
The team – consisting of David R. Scott, James B. Irwin, and Alfred M. Worden – set a number of records while in space, with NASA explaining: “Apollo 15 set several new records for crewed spaceflight: heaviest payload in a lunar orbit of approximately 107,000 pounds, maximum radial distance traveled on the lunar surface away from the spacecraft of about 17.5 miles… most lunar surface EVAs and longest total of duration for lunar surface EVAs.”
The mission also set the record for the longest time in lunar orbit, as well as the longest crewed lunar mission and the longest Apollo mission.
It is believed that the existence of the plaque wasn’t made public until the mission was complete.
The last moon landing was in 1972 (Getty Stock Photo)
The first men to walk on the moon were Neil Armstrong and Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin on 20 July 1969.
At the time, Armstrong uttered the famous words: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
The crew returned back to Earth on 24 July. Over the following few years, 10 astronauts also visited the moon, with the last mission taking place in 1972.
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