IS ANYONE OUT THERE?

During their mission to the moon in November 1969, Alan Bean and fellow astronaut Pete Conrad found themselves alone in the vast dusty landscape of the moon pondering questions that humans have asked throughout the centuries.

He contemplates: “I turned to put the Earth and the Sun behind me, and looked up again, out to infinity. The sky was as black and shiny as the patent leather shoes I wore to Sunday School as a boy. Inside my head, I asked the questions of the ages in my own words. "Is anyone out there? Is there an all-knowing, all-powerful being out there who is in charge of everything in this universe, and all of us, too?” For me, at least, there was no answer. No explanation, no flash of enlightenment. Some may say I didn't listen in the best way, and they might be right.”

This emotive piece has been conservation framed and personally autographed by the artist and astronaut: