A MAN ON THE MOON : A MAN ON THE MOON by Andrew Chaikin ; 1994 ; hardcover with dust jacket ; 1st edition / 1st printing

SIGNED by Apollo 17 Astronaut Harrison Hagan "Jack" Schmitt (the last man to step onto the moon) and NASA Engineer Kasimir J. Patelski

Harrison Hagan "Jack" Schmitt (born July 3, 1935) is an American geologist, former NASA astronaut, university professor, former U.S. senator from New Mexico, and the most recent living person—and only person without a background in military aviation—to have walked on the Moon.

In December 1972, as one of the crew on board Apollo 17, Schmitt became the first member of NASA's first scientist-astronaut group to fly in space. As Apollo 17 was the last of the Apollo missions, he also became the twelfth and second-youngest person to set foot on the Moon and the second-to-last person to step off of the Moon (he boarded the Lunar Module shortly before commander Eugene Cernan). Schmitt also remains the only professional scientist to have flown beyond low Earth orbit and to have visited the Moon. He was influential within the community of geologists supporting the Apollo program and, before starting his own preparations for an Apollo mission, had been one of the scientists training those Apollo astronauts chosen to visit the lunar surface.

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Also signed by Kazimir J. Patelski (a much rarer signature): Some of his NASA resume:

1965-1968 Deputy Manager of Systems Engineering Saturn/Apollo Moon Program.

1968-1972 Manager at Houston Mission Control for the Rockets on all Saturn/Apollo Moon Landings.
  • Designed control consoles and defined data requirements to assess flight performance of all three stages of the Saturn moon rocket.
  • Developed system control manuals that in the event of a malfunction, would assist in problem solution. Standard system now in use for all space launches.
  • After the Saturn V lifted off from Cape Kennedy, responsible for the rockets on all Apollo moon missions (Apollo 7 through 17).
  • Developed and controlled the flight program of the moon rockets to impact on the moon at a precise point. These impacts calibrated the Seismic Sensors left on the moon by the first Apollo Team.
  • On Apollo 13, his team helped develop the "fix" that made possible to join the square command module carbon dioxide filter to the circular lunar module filter. For their efforts in assuring the safe return of the Apollo 13 Astronauts, his team received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Richard Nixon.
1972-1974 Skylab Project Engineer
  • Lead Design Engineer for crew systems area responsible for the design of working and living accommodations within Skylab.
  • Manager of Skylab Mini-Mission-Control Room at McDonnell Douglas facility in Huntington Beach, CA.