The Apollo 15 mission was launched on July 26, 1971 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Four days later it landed on the moon in the Montes Apenninus. Aboard Apollo 15 was a three-man crew, their various research instruments, and one very special object from Earth – a statuette by the Belgian artist Paul Van Hoeyndonck. This 8.5 centimeter tall figurine, entitled Falling Astronaut, was created as a dedication to those US astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts that are no longer with us. It commemorates the victims of space missions and serves as a monument to mankind’s outstanding