Throughout the Mercury, Gemini and even the Apollo programs, I tried to stay pretty informed about the crews, training, launch data, missions and any other pertinent information having to do with everything through the lunar landings. As Skylab, Mir, the International Space Station and other programs prevailed, it seemed impossible to stay up on everything space related.
With the 40th anniversary of the Challenger disaster this week, as well as the excitement about the Artemis 2 launch scheduled for February 6th, space has once again occupied major portions of the news cycle. Of course, this keeps me very interested.
One of the new things I learned this week had to do with Alan Bean, a candidate selected in October 1963 to join the third group of astronauts preparing for space flight. Alan flew two missions in space – Apollo 12 and later, Skylab in 1973. Bean was scheduled to land on the moon during the Apollo 12 mission with Pete Conrad while Command Module Pilot Richard Gordon orbited the moon approximately 60 miles above. This was the flight immediately after Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon in Apollo 11.
Bean was struck by the desolation on the moon. Aldrin had remarked about the same thing, but Bean focused on the patterns of light and the eerie shadows that were cast on the moonscape. He went so far as to comment to the NASA officials that their training materials weren’t authentic and he petitioned them to update training exercises to more closely reflect the actual conditions on the surface of the moon. NASA seemed to be a little tone deaf and, for the most part, ignored his pleas to update materials. After all, he had seen things firsthand and was driven to provide more accurate information for future travels to the lunar surface.
What I didn’t realize was that Astronaut Bean was an amateur artist and he started drawing his recollections of the lunar surface, with more accurate lighting reflected in his work. While NASA tolerated his paintings, it wasn’t long before Bean decided to recreate his images full time. So… he resigned from NASA which was highly unusual. He had been on track to progress through the ranks but what was there for him after walking on the surface of the moon?
Bean ended up becoming a serious artist but wasn’t really accepted by the arts community. And… he really wasn’t an astronaut any longer. So the artistic renderings of this decorated astronaut took time to be accepted by either of the two communities he was involved with. The biggest thing Bean wanted to accomplish was to make sure that NASA and the world at large really knew what the moon was like. He even came to include boot prints and actual moon dust in his paintings. These created unique works by the only artist to have gone to the moon. He didn’t trust engineers and others to create materials that only people who had travelled there could understand.
Eventually, Alan’s works of art gained traction. He painted full time and made use of his first hand experience as a lunar astronaut to create his subject matter. He stressed that he was the only one who had been there and could create renderings based on reality. In fact, you can still purchase his works of art even though Astronaut Bean died in 2018 at the age of 86.
As a pastor teacher, I face certain similarities to what Bean experienced. I can’t even count the number of times that people approach me and tell me something about the Bible that they have “heard” from a friend. This is how gossip gets started. I remember one time when someone was adamant that a certain event in the Bible was fictitious. I asked whether they had read the passages in question and done any independent study on the subject. The answer was a resounding, “No.” I then encouraged this person to read the Scripture directly and then I would be pleased to try and answer their questions. I never heard from the person again…
That’s one of the problems in our society today. People act on hearsay and don’t even try to consider the validity of the source that they listen to. This leads to misdirection and happens on both sides of the political aisle. Fact checking and logic have left the building. But this is also true in our churches and classrooms. We can be lazy and not do our own study when asking questions. One of the many reasons I went to seminary was to study the original languages. I wanted to read for myself what the authors of the Bible actually wrote – not interpreted by someone else.
Our verse tonight is from Solomon’s Book of Proverbs. The king tells us, in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
My encouragement this evening is that it is important to learn the truth and sit under skilled teachers and pastors to make sure that what you are hearing and learning is biblical and authentic. There are just too many ways to get fooled today. This is exactly what Alan Bean was trying to avoid when he dedicated himself to spending time documenting the truth about the lunar surface. My prayer is that through the leading of the Holy Spirit, and petitioning the Lord to increase our understanding of the Bible, that we may become more closely aligned with the will of God and know the truth! Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…