Alan Bean

“I found that I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for.”

“I'm not trying to be a historian. I'm not trying to be a scientist. I'm trying to be an artist and share my feelings.”

“I have the nicest life in the world.”

“But I'm not a scientist, I'm an artist.”

“I think we're going to the moon because it's in the nature of the human being to face challenges.”

“Frequently on the lunar surface I said to myself, 'This is the Moon, that is the Earth. I'm really here, I'm really here!'”

“My decision to be an artist was a good one. It's a much more human way to live than being a scientist.”

“I left the space program to spend the rest of my life painting the things that I had seen.”

“We knew it was a dangerous business, but we were willing to take the risk.”

“Ever since I was a little boy, I've been interested in things that fly.”

“One of the reasons I'm an artist is because I was an astronaut and I've been to another world.”

“The Moon is a very beautiful place. It's a very silent place.”

“You've got to be a risk-taker. You've got to be willing to fail.”

“We were explorers. We were going to a new world.”

“I wanted to be one of the few people who have ever been to the moon, and I was.”