Former Apollo engineer in Naples reflects on moon landing as Artemis II nears

NAPLES, Fla. (WINK)— As NASA prepares for the historic Artemis II launch to the moon, a Naples man who helped make the first moon landing possible is reflecting on his role in space exploration history.

Edward Grace, a former Apollo engineer, worked on the missions that first landed Americans on the moon more than 50 years ago. Fresh out of college, he landed the gig of a lifetime.

"I would fly to Houston to be in mission control during the missions and when we landed on the moon, the average age of an engineer at Mission Control was 25," Grace said.

Now, NASA is sending four people to circle the moon with hopes of returning to the lunar surface soon. Grace, who received a Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Nixon for his work, said the upcoming launch brings back emotional memories.

“It was five and a half minutes before Jim Lovell's voice came over the speaker and Mission Control went wild. Just telling you this, I get goose bumps still," Grace said.

Grace said this mission is important not just for technological advancement but for the US to get to the resources available in space.

"Suppose Columbus never came to North America. Where would we be today? We have to go. We have to advance. We have to explore," Grace said.

While Grace won't be in mission control this time around, he said he'll be watching from Naples. When asked if he had any message for the astronauts, his response was simple.

"No, just do your job," Grace said.