Sad news – we lost a true hero today. Alexei Leonov was the first man to walk in space, and would have been the first man on Moon if the Russians had not lost their momentum in the Space Race. Alexei was a wonderfully complete Human Being – scientist, artist and leader. Thanks to STARMUS I was privileged to be in his company many times over the past few years. He was funny, and delightfully modest about his achievements. Always had time to draw pictures, to interact with children, and share his experiences.
Here you see him through the lenses of my own stereo camera speaking at Starmus, and sharing a bite and a chat with the extraordinary Neil Armstrong – conquerer of the Moon.
Parallel:
Cross-eyed:
Then… you can see the young Alexei in his spacesuit before embarking on that world-beating 1965 Vostok 2 Mission, then captured by a static camera actually during his spacewalk (which nearly killed him when his suit inflated so much that he couldn’t squeeze back inside the craft).
Parallel:
Cross-eyed:
Then in mono you can see me on a panel with these two amazing men inside the dome of the giant GTC telescope in La Palma,
and, in Tenerife, watching a STARMUS lecture together in 2014.
There are more pictures of these wonderful guys in our own book MISSION MOON 3-D.
Alexei is already sadly missed – he was one of a kind and we are all richer for his life on Earth.
RIP.
Bri
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