Joan Cartan-Hansen, Host:
Before astronauts went into

space, they studied special
places on earth.

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

went to the moon.

And what did they find when
they came to Idaho?

Come along and see...

(MUSIC)
(Engines roaring)

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

leap for mankind..."

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

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

to Idaho. More specifically,
they came here.

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

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

broad range of the geologic
impact.

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

National Monument as a science
lab.

Researchers have studied its
geology and biology for clues

about our planet and how we
might explore other worlds.

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

Engle and Alan Shepard toured
craters of the moon.

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

us well trained in volcanics
and meteor impacts so that we

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

moon.

Jim Morris, Retired Craters of
the Moon Superintendent: At

that time NASA was reluctant
to have anyone in the Apollo

program who wasn't already a
trained pilot.

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

geologists.

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

identify different formations,
how identify different rocks,

help to describe them in
proper terminology back to the

scientists back home.

Cartan-Hansen: And is the
actual moon anything like

Idaho's Craters of the Moon?

Well...

Here's how Apollo Astronaut
Edgar Mitchell described the

surface of the moon on the
very first science trek

program.

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

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

pummeled and ground up by
billions of years of meteor

impact to a very very fine
pumice.

Cartan-Hansen: So, not
exactly.

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

important.

Quite the opposite.

The astronauts were so
impressed that three of the

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

celebrate the monument's
75 anniversary and its

contribution to the Apollo
program.

For Morris, who was the
monument's superintendent at

the time,
The best part of the

astronauts return to Craters
for him was seeing them

interact with students.

Morris: Students from various
schools would compete with

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

courses.

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

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

six students and figure out
this problem.

Well Gene Cernan was standing
right there looking over their

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

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

when the moon buggy the fender
came off.

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

up till it became somewhat
rigid taped them together with

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

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

fender?

Cernan: Bob, I am done!

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

because I'd like some sort of
mending award.

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

in there together.

Parker: Okay. Copy that.

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

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

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

Those kids eyes that are they
just they were just entranced

with all of the story.

And of course the parents were
loving it as well.

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

Craters of the Moon.

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

incredibly multidisciplinary
team out here to answer

questions relevant to how does
Craters of the Moon actually

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

in our solar system.

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

one scientist tell me that
they probably shouldn't have

called it Craters of the Moon.

Because what they are finding
is the volcanoes here are very

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

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

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

astronaut who visited Idaho?

Engle got bumped from the moon
missions, but commanded two

space shuttle flights.

Shepard and Mitchell walked on
the moon in 1971 with Apollo

14.

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

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

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

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

with peace and hope for all
mankind."

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

check out the Science Trek
website.

You'll find it at
sciencetrek.org

(MUSIC)

Announcer: Presentation of
Science Trek on Idaho Public

Television is made possible
through the generous support

of the Laura Moore Cunningham
Foundation, committed to

fulfilling the Moore and
Bettis Family legacy of

building the great state of
Idaho; by the Idaho National

Laboratory, mentoring talent
and finding solutions for

energy and security
challenges; by the Friends of

Idaho Public Television; and
by the Corporation for Public

Broadcasting.