Apollo 15 astronaut Al Worden, who circled moon, dies at 88 Apollo 15 astronaut Al Worden, who circled the moon alone while his two crewmates drove around in the first lunar rover, has died at age 88NASA is setting its sights on returning to the moonNASA is setting its sights on returning to the moonCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Apollo 15 astronaut Al Worden, who circled the moon alone in 1971 while his two crewmates test-drove the first lunar rover, died Wednesday at age 88. Worden died in his sleep at a rehab center in Houston following treatment for an infection, said friend and colleague Tom Kallman. Worden flew to the moon in 1971 along with David Scott and Jim Irwin. In his 2011 book “Falling to Earth: An Apollo 15 Astronaut's Journey to the Moon,” Worden wrote that NASA was leery about young children watching a rocket launch and so he called Fred Rogers in Pittsburgh. The astronauts planned to sell them to help pay for their children's education, Worden said in the NASA oral history.

Source: ABC News March 18, 2020 18:40 UTC