My nonfiction piece “The High Untresspassed Sanctity of Space” is up at Lightspeed Magazine. It’s a slightly unorthodox profile of Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon.

I wanted to write a big post here about him/the space program, but I couldn’t even decide where to begin. Instead, these are the three photos from the research folder that, to me, say the most.

This now-famous image was shot during Cernan’s Apollo 17 mission. It’s a pole!

This is Cernan, preparing to climb back into the lunar module and rendezvous with the command module. The plaque on the support pole reads, Here Man completed his first explorations of the Moon. December 1972 AD. May the spirit of peace in which we came be reflected in the lives of all mankind. The ladder is still on the moon.

(I will never, never get over how flimsy and fragile this looks; tin foil and some little pipes, and flags taped on.)

And this one, to which I can add nothing.

Check out the article, if you’re so inclined; I know sincerity is weird, coming from me, but I think we’ll all be okay.