The Once Secret Sculpture on the Moon - The Fallen Astronaut

It was a largely unknown event at the time and even created some controversy on Earth.

In August 1971, astronauts on the Apollo 15 mission placed a small aluminum statue and a plaque on the moon that commemorated the deaths of fourteen U.S. astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts. The event was largely unknown until the astronauts returned to Earth. The story that followed the ceremonial event, however, had a life all its own.

Before the Apollo 1…