BEAN, ALAN. (1932-2018). American astronaut and the fourth person to walk on the moon’s surface. Signed book. (“Alan Bean”). A copy of Apollo, An Eyewitness Account by Astronaut/Explorer Artist/Moonwalker Alan Bean, written by Andrew Chaikin and illustrated by Bean. 176pp. Large 4to. N.p., N.d. First edition. Greenwich Workshop Press, 1998. Inscribed “Keep up your space studies [drawing of a star] Alan Bean.”

Bean studied aeronautical engineering before entering the United States Navy to become a fighter and test pilot. In 1963, NASA selected him as part of Astronaut Group 3 and in 1969 he served as Lunar Module Pilot for the Apollo 12 mission. The sixth crewed mission of the Apollo program was the second to land on the moon and Bean became the fourth person to set foot on its surface. In 1973, he returned to space as part of the 1973 mission to the Skylab space station, and although Bean retired from the Navy in 1975, he continued to train astronauts as a civilian while skillfully painting subjects featuring space exploration and producing five books about his career and NASA including the present volume.

In mint condition.