Autograph manuscript speech by Apollo 15 astronaut Jim Irwin, who delivered this speech in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Labor Day, September 6, 1971, as part of the celebratory post-flight tour of Apollo 15, which had successfully splashed down one month earlier. The handwritten speech, unsigned, penned in black felt tip on seven 7.75 x 10.5 notebook sheets, is headed “Pittsburgh, PA” and reads, in part: “I have come home again. Back to earth and back to Pennsylvania…Our trip to the moon was made possible by such efforts and cooperation of people throughout our nation. My voyage with Dave Scott and Al Worden in the Endeavour took us out a quarter of a million miles from earth. We were out there longer than any other man and we studied the awesome landscape of the moon with its mountains, plains, craters and canyons. From this distant & constraining perception, the earth appears as a gleaming self contained spaceship, glowing with color and life. As far as we could tell our Earth is the only planet in our solar system that is host and home to life as we know it, particularly human life. Looking back to earth from the moon, I gained a deeper appreciation of the beautiful home of mankind and became more keenly aware of the need of all its inhabitants to work together both to protect and increase its bounty and to harvest its resources for all mankind.” In fine condition, with some trivial, faint stains on the first page.
Although their highly successful 12-day Moon landing mission ended with their August 7, 1971 splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, the work for Apollo 15 astronauts Dave Scott, Al Worden, and Jim Irwin continued for many months. Following three weeks of technical debriefings at the Manned Spacecraft Center, like previous Apollo astronauts, Scott, Worden, and Irwin traveled extensively, including three international trips, to highlight the scientific aspects of their mission to government officials, scientists, students, the media, and the general public. On Labor Day, the crew went their separate ways, with each astronaut returning to their hometowns for welcoming events – Scott in San Antonio, Texas, Worden in Jackson, Michigan, and Irwin in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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