"How did it feel to walk on the Moon?"

"That is the single question I've been asked most often since November 19, 1969. I've said, 'It's the feeling of excitement a person experiences only when their life's vision becomes a reality.' Or, 'It's the feeling one has when years of dedication and training finally make their most cherished dream come true.' Often I'll remember, 'I felt a long, long way - 239,000 miles at least - from most of the people and places I love.' I might also add, 'It seemed unreal...impossible...but my space gear, and the familiar voices from Earth told me otherwise.' From time to time, I would look down and say to myself, 'This is the Moon,' and then I would look up at a small, beautiful, bright, blue-and-white sphere hanging in the mysterious, luminous black sky and say to myself, 'that is the Earth.' I've tried a lot of words over the years, but I don't think I've ever completely expressed my feelings about that incredible experience.

"The original idea for this image came to me in 1986. I began painting what had taken shape in my mind but, when it was nearly completed, the painting just didn't feel right. I set it aside for several months, but studied it every day or so. A new vision emerged that elicited happier and more exhilarating thoughts and emotions, ones closely related to how it actually felt. Then I was able to finish it." - Alan Bean