Apollo 15 astronaut Al Worden participated in a Reddit AMA, which mostly centered on his 1971 trip to the moon. In the course of the Q&A, he had kind remarks for both Wernher von Braun and Donald Trump, which is perfectly symmetrical, when you consider the former was an actual Nazi and the latter at least posturing as a Hitler-ish hotelier. Apart from politics, he comments on the current state of space exploration, which he seems to believe is lacking. A few exchanges follow.

Question:

Was going to the moon tough to top? Did you come back and have trouble figuring out ‘what next’?

Al Worden:

That’s a very good question. Going to the moon required a skillset, much like driving a car or flying an airplane. There are many other intellectual challenges that require thought process way beyond anything I needed to make a lunar flight. I think it’s very important for the future that we motivate young people in STEM courses, and that, to me, is intellectually challenging.

Question:

1. As I have read, you never did an EVA on the moon, but orbited the moon. Can you describe the feeling of orbiting another planet, looking not just at the Moon, but also at the Earth. Do you remember any special thoughts you had?
2. What do you think of the technological advancements of SpaceX and their construction of reusable rockets, and their plans to go to Mars?
3. What would you say to all the young people around the world who loves space and aspire to make a future career in space exploration, through the means of engineering, piloting, physics, chemistry, biology and/or other ways to contribute to the research for future space travel and exploration?
   Sincerely, a Swedish Masters of Computer Science and Engineering student.

Al Worden:

1. I remember vividly looking every 2 hours for Earth-rise over the Lunar horizon. The moon was a very cold, and deadly place, but the Earth was beautiful in the colors and the atmosphere.
2. Space-X is not the only commercial company that is flying into space. There is Boeing and Orbital/ATK. In the next few years, we will see lots of commercial launches into space, however they will probably be limited to Earths orbit, because the requirements are too great to go into deep space. Space-X is talking about going to Mars, but that remains to be seen.
3. I am a firm believer that any young person working their way through college should take whatever they want, but do very well with it. In the future there will be positions for all disciplines but those who study STEM programs will be in the fore-front.

Question:

Who are the unsung heroes of the Apollo program? Was there anyone who played a big role that history hasn’t recorded very well?

Al Worden:

I would say that maybe one of the unsung heroes was Wernher Von Braun. He did get considerable amount of publicity, but he was the chief architect for the Apollo Program. And in-fact there were many, many that were critical to the program that no one knows about.

Question:

Have you ever seen a candidate for President like Donald Trump?

Al Worden:

No, but political conditions of today require someone like Trump to set this country straight.

Question:

What do you think about all the technological advancements in space travel, and where do you think space travel will be in the future?

Al Worden:

My feelings are there are no technological advances in space travel in the past 40 years. In fact, the system that is being designed to go to Mars, is really just an oversized Apollo.

Question:

If you could go to the moon one more time, would you go?

Al Worden:

No, the moon has no interest. We need to go further out.•