We usually remember the names of astronauts at the expense of their cosmic exploits. For example, those who walked around the earth’s satellite are a prime example. The 8th man on the moon was James Irwin. But he was also remembered as a person who tried to find Noah's Ark.
Apollo 15 mission
James Irwin spoke as a pilot of a lunar module Apollo 15, who visited the earth satellite in 1971. This was the fourth human landing. In the same year, NASA awarded him a medal for outstanding service.
A year later (1972), he found himself in scandal after trying to sell brands that had been in space (the crew of Apollo 15 brought them to the moon without permission). He was expelled from NASA, but he decided to establish “High Flight Foundation”. The main goal is to show that science proves the theory of creation, and not evolution. Let's look at this in more detail.
Religious beliefs
Despite his scientific activities, Irwin was Christian and supporter of creationism. 50 thousand Baptists, who had gathered at the Houston space center, were waiting for his return from the moon. He announced to them that on the satellite all the time he felt unity with God. After leaving NASA, he becomes a preacher and heads the foundation with his wife. Irwin firmly believed that God created the Universe, that it was necessary to recognize this as a fact, discard evolution and firmly follow the Bible literally. Namely, that the Earth is young, created in 7 days, etc. What will be the best evidence? Well, of course Noah's Ark!
Main biblical artifact
According to the biblical legend, God commanded Noah to build a large-scale vessel that could save his family and a couple of representatives of each species from the flood. Its dimensions reached about 135 x 23 x 14 m.
Biblical researchers agree that after the flood (if it was), the ark was supposed to stick to Mount Ararat in Turkey, from where the settlement of the new life began. Therefore, Irvin decided to equip an expedition to search. The first ascents occurred in 1973.
In 1982 he organized another expedition, receiving support from the Turkish president Kenan Evren. The research team consisted of 14 scientists and 3 special forces. The latter were obligatory because Turkish territory was adjacent to the USSR. In gratitude for his help, Irvin gave Evren a flag that had been on the moon. Irwin dreamed of finding the ark, but he was a failure. During the ascent, he witnessed how Soviet guards shot dead two Turkish citizens (they were not part of the expedition). After that, a stone that fell from a mountain fell on a former astronaut. He was seriously injured, so he had to organize an urgent descent.
The misfortunes followed one after the other and the expedition decided to cancel. Irwin continued to return to Mount Ararat in 1983 and 1984., But could not find a ship, or even fragments.
Postscript
In the late 1980s Irvin stopped searching. He was able to conquer the moon, but never found the ark. Once he said: “It was much easier to get to the moon. But the ark continues to elude us. ” Astronaut died in 1991 from a heart attack, becoming the first Earthling to die on a moon.
