I looked in awe at the Earth from the lunar surface. What I saw was almost too beautiful

– Eugene Cernan, last man on the moon

Giant footsteps ... Apollo programme astronaut

NEIL ARMSTRONG, who died on Saturday aged 82, was the first man to walk on the moon. But what happened to the 11 others who followed him?

All were men and all were from the US but not all of them became all-American heroes like Armstrong.
While he enjoyed life as an esteemed university professor after his time in Nasa, others found it harder to come down to earth.
Some battled alcoholism, some were ostracised for misdeeds – but all were touched by the spine-tingling sight of seeing our Earth from the moon.
Here TIM SPANTON tells the stories of the amazing 11.

TV work ... Pete Conrad

Second on moon ... Buzz Aldrin

Buzz Aldrin

Moon walk: July 21, 1969

The devout Christian was second on the moon and took Communion there.
The dad of three, 82, has battled alcoholism and been divorced three times.
He punched a conspiracy theorist who claims the landing was faked.
Moon quote: “Beautiful, beautiful, magnificent desolation.”

Pete Conrad

Moon walk: November 19, 1969

Twice-married Pete went on to work in TV.
In 1999, the dad-of-four crashed his motorbike. He seemed fine but died six hours later of internal bleeding, aged 69.
Moon quote: “The flight was extremely normal... for the first 36 seconds, then after that got very interesting.”

Golf balls ... Alan Shepard

Artist ... Alan Bean

Alan Bean

Moon walk: November 19, 1969

Alan, now 80, became a full-time painter of space scenes after leaving Nasa.
The married dad-of-two – who took a piece of MacBean tartan to the lunar surface, sprinkles a little moon dust on each picture.
Moon quote: “This is the moon, that is the Earth. I’m really here, I’m really here.”

Alan Shepard

Moon walk: February 5, 1971

Hit golf balls on surface and went on to serve on the boards of several firms.
The married dad of three died of leukaemia in 1998 at 74.
Moon quote: “It’s a very sobering feeling to be up in space and realise that one’s safety factor was determined by the lowest bidder on a government contract.”

Film consultant ... David Scott

Rex

Not alone ... Edgar Mitchell

REX

Edgar Mitchell

Moon walk: February 5, 1971

Edgar, 81, is a firm believer in UFOs and has campaigned tirelessly against sceptics since leaving Nasa in 1972.
Now divorced with six kids, he claims US officials have dissected bodies of aliens but conspire to keep it secret.
Moon quote: “My view of our planet was a glimpse of divinity.”

David Scott

Moon walk: July 31, 1971

Grounded by Nasa for taking commemorative moon stamps and selling them to a dealer.
The married dad of two, 80, became a TV and film consultant.
Moon quote: “I don’t see a hostile world. I see the radiant body where man has taken his first steps into a frontier that will never end.”

James Irwin

Moon walk: July 31, 1971

Caught up in stamp scandal and grounded. Became a preacher, saying: “Jesus walking on the Earth is more important than man walking on the moon.”
Tried to find Noah’s ark. The married dad of five died of a heart attack in 1991, aged 61.
Moon quote: “I felt the power of God as I’d never felt it before.”

Youngster ... Charles Duke

NASA

Long service ... John Young

NASA

John Young

Moon walk: April 21, 1972

Stayed with Nasa until retiring aged 74. Has two kids by his second wife and is now 81.
Moon quote: “Anyone who sits on the world’s largest hydrogen-oxygen-fuelled system, knowing they’re going to light the bottom, and doesn’t get a bit worried, does not fully understand the situation.”

Charles Duke

Moon walk: April 21, 1972

Youngest person to walk on moon, being 36 at the time.
Later became devout Christian and preaches to prisoners.
Now 76, he raises money to pay for university fees for budding astronauts. He is married with two children.
Moon quote: “The blackness was so intense.”

The last ... Eugene Cernan

Entered politics ... Harrison Schmitt

Harrison Schmitt

Moon walk: December 11, 1972

Quit Nasa in 1975 to become a Republican senator.
Lost a re-election bid in 1982 after his Democrat opponent ran on the slogan: “What on Earth has he done for you lately?”
Now 77, he is married but has no children.
Moon quote: “You have to be there to really know what it’s like.”

Eugene Cernan

Moon walk: December 11, 1972

Last man to walk on moon, as co-astronaut Schmitt returned to the lunar module before him.
Now 78, the dad-of-three left Nasa and became a TV pundit.
Moon quote: “I stood in the blue darkness and looked in awe at the Earth from the surface. What I saw was almost too beautiful to grasp.”

myView

By ANDREW SMITH, Author of Moondust: In Search Of The Men Who Fell To Earth
WHEN I went in search of the Apollo astronauts for my book, the first surprise was how forgotten they’d been.
They were scattered across America, living ordinary lives. I found one playing second fiddle to pretend spacemen at a Star Trek Convention.
Nasa picked them for their flying skills and not for their PR abilities, which lead to another big surprise – how different, and sometimes eccentric they were.

Team ... Cernan, seated, and his crew

NASA

Alan Bean became a painter and might be the happiest, most contented person I’ve ever met, while Buzz Aldrin never got over being second, not first.
Jim Irwin thought he heard God talking to him on the moon. Edgar Mitchell, another favourite of mine, thought he detected an intelligence out there and became a New Age guru.
Meanwhile, Charlie Duke, like so many, was unable to find anything to excite him the way space had, and fell apart.
The one thing which connected almost of all them was their modesty and, like the great Neil Armstrong, their refusal to take credit for what they’d done. They were just doing their jobs and were nothing special, they told me.
And I didn’t believe them for a minute.