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Joan Cartan-Hansen, Host: 
Before astronauts went into

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space, they studied special 
places on earth.

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They wanted to be prepared for 
what they might find when they

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went to the moon.

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And what did they find when 
they came to Idaho?

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Come along and see...

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(MUSIC) 
(Engines roaring)

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Neil Armstrong: "...that's one 
small step for man, one giant

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leap for mankind..."

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Cartan-Hansen: Before they 
went to the moon...

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(sound of video rewinding) 
...four astronauts came

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to Idaho. More specifically, 
they came here.

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Gene Cernan, Astronaut: The 
Craters of the Moon is a

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spectacular place, it's an 
ideal place to study a high,

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broad range of the geologic 
impact.

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Cartan-Hansen: NASA has long 
used Craters of the Moon

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National Monument as a science 
lab.

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Researchers have studied its 
geology and biology for clues

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about our planet and how we 
might explore other worlds.

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Back in 1969, astronauts Gene 
Cernan, Edgar Mitchell, Joe

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Engle and Alan Shepard toured 
craters of the moon.

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Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 
Astronaut: The idea was to get

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us well trained in volcanics 
and meteor impacts so that we

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could be the eyes of the 
geologist when we were on the

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moon.

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Jim Morris, Retired Craters of 
the Moon Superintendent: At

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that time NASA was reluctant 
to have anyone in the Apollo

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program who wasn't already a 
trained pilot.

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But they said, well let's 
train these guys to be field

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geologists.

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In other words what to look 
for when in the field, how to

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identify different formations, 
how identify different rocks,

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help to describe them in 
proper terminology back to the

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scientists back home.

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Cartan-Hansen: And is the 
actual moon anything like

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Idaho's Craters of the Moon?

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Well...

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Here's how Apollo Astronaut 
Edgar Mitchell described the

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surface of the moon on the 
very first science trek

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program.

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Mitchell: Its surface, it's 
like very very fine talcum

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powder but it's made of basalt 
rock or lava rock that's been

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pummeled and ground up by 
billions of years of meteor

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impact to a very very fine 
pumice.

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Cartan-Hansen: So, not 
exactly.

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But that doesn't mean training 
at craters of the moon wasn't

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important.

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Quite the opposite.

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The astronauts were so 
impressed that three of the

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four came back to Craters of 
the Moon in 1999, to honor and

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celebrate the monument's 
75 anniversary and its

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contribution to the Apollo 
program.

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For Morris, who was the 
monument's superintendent at

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the time, 
The best part of the

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astronauts return to Craters 
for him was seeing them

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interact with students.

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Morris: Students from various 
schools would compete with

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teams to design a rover out of 
Legos and run through obstacle

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courses.

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One of these school groups had 
a problem and they had to stop

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and they had to get together 
as a group of four or five,

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six students and figure out 
this problem.

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Well Gene Cernan was standing 
right there looking over their

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shoulder and he said, "Let me 
tell you students, this is

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very similar to a problem we 
had when we were on the moon

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when the moon buggy the fender 
came off.

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And what we decide to do is we 
took our topo maps folded them

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up till it became somewhat 
rigid taped them together with

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duct tape and replaced our 
fenders with that..."

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NASA VIDEO: Parker: And Geno, 
how are you doing on that

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fender?

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Cernan: Bob, I am done!

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If that fender stays on...I'm 
going to take a picture of it

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because I'd like some sort of 
mending award.

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It's not too neat, but tape 
and lunar dust just don't hang

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in there together.

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Parker: Okay. Copy that.

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Morris: "...And that, young 
man, is what you have in your

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hands right there, is some maps, 
some cardboard, some duct tape

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and you're solving your 
problem very same way."

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Those kids eyes that are they 
just they were just entranced

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with all of the story.

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And of course the parents were 
loving it as well.

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Cartan-Hansen: Today, NASA is 
still sending scientists to

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Craters of the Moon.

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Darlene Lim, NASA's Ames 
Research Center: We have an

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incredibly multidisciplinary 
team out here to answer

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questions relevant to how does 
Craters of the Moon actually

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help us understand the moon, 
Mars, asteroids and so forth

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in our solar system.

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Ted Stout, Craters of the Moon 
Chief of Interpretation: I had

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one scientist tell me that 
they probably shouldn't have

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called it Craters of the Moon.

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Because what they are finding 
is the volcanoes here are very

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similar to a lot of the 
Martian volcanoes that we see.

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And so maybe they should call 
it Volcanoes of Mars instead.

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Cartan-Hansen: And by the way, 
what happened to the 1969

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astronaut who visited Idaho?

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Engle got bumped from the moon 
missions, but commanded two

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space shuttle flights.

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Shepard and Mitchell walked on 
the moon in 1971 with Apollo

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14.

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Cernan commanded Apollo 17 in 
1972, and was the last human -

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at least, so far - to leave 
footprints on the moon.

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Cernan: "And, as we leave the 
Moon at Taurus- Littrow, we

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leave as we came and, God 
willing, as we shall return,

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with peace and hope for all 
mankind."

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Cartan-Hansen: If you want to 
learn more about the moon,

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check out the Science Trek 
website.

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You'll find it at 
sciencetrek.org

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(MUSIC)

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Announcer: Presentation of 
Science Trek on Idaho Public

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Television is made possible 
through the generous support

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of the Laura Moore Cunningham 
Foundation, committed to

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fulfilling the Moore and 
Bettis Family legacy of

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building the great state of 
Idaho; by the Idaho National

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Laboratory, mentoring talent 
and finding solutions for

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energy and security 
challenges; by the Friends of

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Idaho Public Television; and 
by the Corporation for Public

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Broadcasting.