James Irwin

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James Benson (March 17, 1930 – August 8, 1991) (Col, USAF) was an American explorer, aeronautical engineer, and a United States Air Force pilot.

Apollo 15's fourth human lunar landing, he served as the Apollo Lunar Module pilot.

He was the eighth person to walk on the Moon and the first and youngest of those astronauts to die.

Early life and education

Irwin was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, of Scottish and Irish descent, to parents James William Irwin (1896–1979), a US Army World War I soldier, and Elsa Mathilda Irwin (née Strebel, 1899-1933). Around 1859, Irwin's grandparents immigrated to the United States from Altmore Parish in Pomeroy, Ireland (now Northern Ireland). He told his mother about his decision to fly to the Moon at the age of 12, letting her know he might be the first person to do so (he ended up being the eighth). In 1947, he graduated from East High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. In 1951, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Naval Science from the United States Naval Academy, as well as a Masters of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering and Instrumentation Engineering from the University of Michigan.

He began flight training at Hondo Air Base, as well as a follow-on training at Reese Air Force Base, Texas. In 1961, he graduated from the Air Force Experimental Flight Test Pilot School (Class 60C) and the Aerospace Research Pilot School in 1963 (Class IV). Prior to joining NASA, he was Chief of the Advanced Requirements Branch at Headquarters Air Defense Command. He received the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal and two Air Force Commendation Medals during his time in the Air Force. While serving on the 4750th Training Wing, he also received an Air Force Outstanding Unit Citation.

Irwin was also a laboratory pilot on the Lockheed YF-12, the Mach 3 fighter-interceptor version that predated the SR-71 Blackbird. That plane was his first flight and was on the day that one of his five children was born.

A student pilot with Irwin's training crashed the plane in 1961 while flying on a training mission. Both survived, but Irwin suffered with compound fractures, amnesia, and nearly lost a leg. John Forrest, a U.S. Air Force orthopedic surgeon, was instrumental in preventing the leg from being removed.

He accumulated more than 7,015 hours of flying time during his military service, of which 5,300 hours were in jet aircraft.

Personal life

Irwin was raised in a Christian household but stopped actively practicing the faith at age ten. Since returning from space, he became a devout born-again Christian.

Irwin married his first wife, who was a Catholic, in 1952. His infidelity with his work contributed to his unhappy marriage. The marriage ended after two years due to her poor, borderline cruel treatment of her, and he later said that finding faith made familial relationships much simpler.

Irwin married former Mary Ellen Monroe in 1959, his second wife. They were married before he died.

Joy, Jill, James, Jan and Joe were among the 5 children born in Irwin's household.

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NASA career

Irwin was one of NASA's 19 astronauts chosen in April 1966. He was selected as Commander and with John S. Bull as Lunar Module Pilot for LTA-8, an environmental qualification test of the Apollo Lunar Module in a vacuum chamber at the Houston Space Environment Simulation Laboratory. He later served as a member of Apollo 10, the first mission to carry the complete Apollo stack to the Moon, as well as the first crewed Moon landing. Irwin served as backup Lunar Module Pilot for the second Moon landing mission, Apollo 12.

Irwin logged 295 hours and 11 minutes on space between July 26 and August 7, 1971. (LMP) His extravehicular activity (EVA) on the Moon's surface amounted to 18 hours and 35 minutes of mission time (an additional 33 minutes was used for Commander David R. Scott to do a stand-up EVA by opening the LM's docking hatch to survey the environment and photograph). The mission of Irwin and David Scott was more science-based than previous missions, implying that they underwent extensive geological training to satisfy the J-Mission's demanding nature. The Genesis Rock's extra training is credited with enabling them to make one of the Apollo era's most significant discoveries, the Genesis Rock.

Apollo 15 landed in Hadley-Apennine, the Moon's Hadley-Apennine region, renowned for its mountains and rilles. They will spend more time on the Moon than on previous missions in order to allow for three EVAs as a J-Mission. In addition, Irwin was the first passenger on the Moon as Scott led the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) along for this mission (LM) Falcon's Descent Stage. At 66 hours and 54 minutes, Scott and Irwin's stay on the Moon was just under three days.

Irwin and Scott were busy moving rocks like rock samples into the CSM and preparing the Lunar Module for final separation as the rendezvous phase was complete between Falcon and Endeavour CSM. During this lengthy period of work, the first signs of a heart disease were evident. Both Scott and Irwin had been up for 23 hours, during which they did a final moonwalk, performed the ascent from the lunar surface, rendezvoused with Endeavour, and discovered the challenges that delayed the Lunar Module jettison operation. The astronauts' vital signs were being tracked back on Earth, and flight surgeons noticed some anomalies in Irwin's heart rhythms. Irwin's heart had enlarged in anticipation. At the time, Dr. Charles Berry mused to Chris Kraft, deputy director of the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), "It's serious, [i]f he were on Earth." I'd have him in the ICU being treated for a heart attack. Berry, on the other hand, discovered that Endeavour's cabin atmosphere was 100% oxygen when space, and that Irwin was in the best of circumstances. "In truth, he is in an ICU," says the author. He's getting one hundred percent oxygen, he's being closely monitored, and, best of all, he's in zero g.

Irwin wasn't much more involved in the post-earth injection phase of the mission than helping Al Worden's EVA to retrieve film magazines from the CSM's SIM bay by donning a pressure suit and tracking him. During the remainder of the mission, he was able to rest and apparently recover. The flight surgeons continued to monitor his EKG until splashdown, but his heart rhythm was normal. This incident was not addressed during the mission debriefing sessions, and it did not appear when he returned to Earth.

Post-NASA career

It was discovered that the crew had been on the Moon without authority for 398 commemorative first day covers, which were then sold to a German stamp dealer. The proceeds of the auction were supposed to be used to establish trust funds for the children of Apollo 15's crews. NASA had turned a blind eye to similar activities on previous flights, but the Obama administration had reprimanded the astronauts, and no one was paid for the sales. Prior to the reprimand, Irwin had stated that he planned to retire from the Air Force and resign from NASA. The astronauts surrendered the covers, which were returned in 1983, during subsequent probes by NASA, the Attorney General, and Congress. The action effectively cleared the astronauts, according to a Slate magazine.

Irwin was not a committed Christian during his time at NASA, according to his own admission. Irwin founded the High Flight Foundation after retiring as a colonel in 1972. "Goodwill Ambassador for the Prince of Peace" spent the next 20 years on earth, saying that "Jesus walking on the earth is more relevant than man walking on the moon." He said that his space experiences made God more real to him than ever before. The Christian rebirth, which occurred while Irwin was in space, saved their marriage and made their lives much happier.

Irwin led several expeditions to Mount Ararat, Turkey, in search of Noah's Ark's remains. He was wounded during the descent and had to be carried down the mountain on horseback. Irwin wrote an essay in More Than Earthlings arguing that the Genesis creation story was based on factual, literal history.

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Awards and honors

• Command Pilot Astronaut Wings
• Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
• two Air Force Commendation Medals
• NASA Distinguished Service Medal
• United Nations Peace Medal, 1971
• City of New York Gold Medal, 1971
• City of Chicago Gold Medal, 1971
• Air Force Association's David C. Schilling Trophy, 1971
• Robert J. Collier Trophy, 1971
• Haley Astronautics Award (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics), 1972
• Arnold Air Society's John F. Kennedy Trophy, 1972