"The eagle has landed." In a way, that phrase has become more memorable than Neil Armstrong saying, "That's one small step for man," as he stepped off the porch of the lunar landing vehicle — called the Eagle — and onto the surface of the moon. "The Eagle has landed" seemed to summarize the centuries of dreams, and decades of effort that culminated when humans first set foot on the surface of the moon — 40 years ago this summer.
Six more Apollo missions would blast into space. In all, twelve human beings have been to the moon's surface and back. Alan Bean was the lunar module pilot on Apollo 12 and the fourth man to walk on the moon. Andrew Chaikin is the author of a number of books about the Apollo missions.
Host Scott Simon speaks with the pair, who collaborated on a new book for children about the Apollo missions, called Mission Control, This Is Apollo.
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