Alan Bean Alan Bean Alan LaVern Bean (March 15, 1932 – May 26, 2018) was an American naval officer and naval aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut; he was the fourth person to walk on the Moon. He 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 age 37 in November 1969. He made his second and final flight into space on the Skylab 3 mission in 1973, the second manned mission to
Neil Armstrong future, destines our nation to become one of second or even third rate stature". Armstrong also publicly recalled his initial concerns about the Apollo 11 mission, when he had believed there was only a 50% chance of landing on the Moon. "I was elated, ecstatic and extremely surprised that we were successful", he later said. On November 18, 2010, aged 80, Armstrong said in a speech during the "Science & Technology Summit" in The Hague, Netherlands, that he would offer his services as commander on a mission to Mars if he were asked. Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5,