LTCOL Alfred Merrill “Al” Worden NASA Astronaut - Space Flight Memorials and Exhibits on Waymarking.com

Alfred Merrill “Al” Worden was born February 7, 1932 in Jackson, Michigan to Merrill and Helen Worden. Al was one of six children in the family. He attended elementary school in the one room Dibble schoolhouse now located on the Ella Sharp Park grounds. Later he would Jackson High School played football and was student council president his senior year.

After high school Al was accepted to West Point military academy. Al graduated as a member of the class of 1955, he then entered the U.S. Air Force and trained as a fighter pilot. Wishing to advance his career he obtained a Master of Science degree from the University of Michigan and became a test pilot.

In 1966 Al applied for and was accept into the astronaut corps at NASA. He first served as backup Command Module Pilot for Apollo 12. His next assignment was as Command Module Pilot on Apollo 15. On July 26, 1971, Al along with Commander David Scott and Lunar Module Pilot James Irwin flew to the moon. Al holds two Guinness World Records, while Scott and Irwin were on the moon, Worden’s orbit took him further away from them than any previous Apollo missions, making him the most isolated person in human history. Then on the return to earth, he preformed the first deep space EVA (extravehicular activity) when he exited the Apollo spacecraft while 198,800 miles from earth to retrieve film canisters that were a part of a instrument package used during the flight. He was 1 of 24 people who have flown to the moon.

After leaving NASA he helped create the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation which provides scholarships to students pursuing an education in the fields of engineering, mathematics, science and technology.

LTCOL Alfred Merrill Worden passed away March 18, 2020 in Sugar Land, TX
age 88, his is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

This portrait was painted by Jeks One of Greensboro, North Carolina during the 2022 Jackson (MI) Bright Walls Festival and is located on the south wall of The Hurst Planetarium at the Ella Sharp Museum. Jeks is one of the top monochromatic portrait artist in the world. He has painted hundreds of murals featuring notable celebrities from across the US, Canada and Columbia, all which have become beloved community landmarks.

Hours: Portrait available 24/7 Fee (if no fee, enter 'none'): None How Long a Hike: 40’ Amount of time an average person would spend here: Less than an hour Accessible?: yes Location is wheelchair accessible?: Yes

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Date Logged Log User Rating   12/03/2022 bobfrapples8 visited it