Pete and Me

“Of all astronauts who have ever put on a space suit, Pete Conrad is my absolute favorite,” says artist and astronaut Alan Bean. “He was the best seat-of-the-pants man I have ever known. His instincts were usually right, he stayed on course and he always gave his best shot. On the flight of Apollo 12, he knew when to hustle and when to slow down and enjoy the view. In this painting, Pete is taking my photograph with his chest-mounted Hasselblad camera. We used the camera mostly for scientific documentation, but as often as we could think of it, we also used the camera as tourists in a strange and wonderful world. Note the cuff-mounted checklist that told us what we were to do next and kept us on schedule.”