THE FANTASY - CONRAD, GORDON AND BEAN

Alan Bean often expressed his desire for command module pilot Dick Gordon to somehow enjoy the experience of walking on the moon with himself and Pete Conrad – in this playful painting he does exactly that.

Of the three, Gordon was the most experienced crew member and was assigned to take care of the command module, orbiting 60 miles above the surface whilst Bean and Conrad explored below. It meant the three astronauts never made it to the moon at the same time.

Bean perfectly describes his piece:

"We often fantasized about Dick's joining us on the moon but we never found a way. In my paintings, though, I can have it my way. Now, at last, our best friend has come the last sixty miles."

This moving depiction has been personally signed by all three astonauts: