Alan Bean, the fourth human to walk on the moon, dies at 86

“Alan was the strongest and kindest man I ever knew. He was the love of my life, and I miss him dearly,” said Leslie, Alan Bean’s wife of 40 years. “A native Texan, Alan died peacefully in Houston surrounded by those who loved him.”

Bean, who was born March 15, 1932, in Wheeler, Texas, served as a test pilot for the U.S. Navy, and became a Apollo and Skylab astronaut.

He flew into space twice, the first time being a lunar module pilot on Apollo 12, the second moon landing mission, in November 1969. He spent 10-plus hours on the lunar surface, helping to deploy several surface experiments and install the first nuclear-powered generator station on the moon to provide the power source, NASA said. Bean participated in the inspection of a robotic Surveyor spacecraft and collected 75 pounds of rocks and lunar soil for study back on Earth.

Bean was one of only 12 men to walk on the moon. He did so four months after Neil Armstrong, an American astronaut, became the first human to walk on the moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission in July 1969.

He also served as spacecraft commander of the second crewed flight to the U.S.’ first space station, Skylab, in 1973.

Bean retired from NASA in 1981, and after that spent time creating Apollo-themed paintings.

“I’m saddened to hear that Astronaut Alan Bean has passed away. He was a great American explorer and his footprints on the moon will continue to inspire generations around the world to push boundaries for the sake of human discovery,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine in a tweet.