Oregonian File Photo

Astronaut Walter Cunningham rests after climbing around pumice flats and lava fields of the rugged upper McKenzie area of central Oregon.

Before Walter Cunningham was launched into space, he put on a space suit and moonwalked in Oregon.

On August, 25, 1964, the astronaut who would later pilot Apollo 7, joined by a team of NASA technicians, went up to McKenzie Pass in the central Cascade Mountains to test an experimental space suit design, in an environment scientists thought might resemble the moon.

The plan was to time Cunningham as he scrambled up a slope of rough basalt lava rock, hooked up simulated instruments, and performed other tasks that might be necessary for a moon landing. But the simulation didn't quite go according to plan, according to a front-page story that ran in The Oregonian the next day:



"The agile astronaut, looking like a human sausage in his pressure suit, was climbing up a steep slope over loose lava rock when he lost his balance and fell backwards. He started to roll down the 30 degree slope, but NASA technicians stopped him after he rolled over once.



"Cunningham wasn’t hurt except for a left thumb which he said felt like it was sprained.

"The two tiny tears in the left glove dropped the pressure in his prototype moon suit, however, and the test had to be halted."

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Oregonian File Photo

NASA technicians attend to astronaut Walter Cunningham after he fell while climbing a rocky slope at McKenzie Pass.

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The purpose of the tests, NASA project chief Earl V. LeFevres told The Oregonian at the time, was to help design a space suit to be worn on the moon, testing how the material allowed astronauts to move and how well it held up in a moon-like environment.

“This lava slope is worse than anything we actually expect to tackle on the moon,” LeFevres said. “We are trying to find out what is the worst terrain we can handle and hope to design a suit to enable us to cope with such conditions.”

It’s not clear exactly what researchers discovered through their tests in the Oregon mountains, but two years later, manufacturer ILC Dover had created and delivered its very first space suits for the Apollo missions, a design that closely resembled the suits worn on Apollo 7 by Cunningham and his fellow astronauts – as well as those later worn by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins on their iconic Apollo 11 moonwalk.

One clear benefit of the test, however, was on central Oregon tourism. After news of the astronauts’ visit came out, tourists began flocking to Oregon’s “moon country” at McKenzie Pass. An article that appeared that September in The Oregonian said while the McKenzie Pass highway was sparsely-traveled at the time, “those who do drive to the high country west of Sisters and take time for a look and a stroll find much of spectacular interest.”

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Oregonian File Photo

North and Middle Sisters, seen from a spot near the McKenzie Pass summit in August, 1964.

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Visitors today can still find much of spectacular interest at McKenzie Pass, including the famed Dee Wright Observatory, views of several Cascade peaks, and a popular stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail.

You probably won’t find any more astronauts out there today (Mars simulations have taken place on the volcanic slopes of Kilauea in Hawaii), but the rugged terrain of McKenzie Pass will forever be a part of the history of space exploration in America – Oregon’s own small step for mankind.

--Jamie Hale | jhale@oregonian.com | @HaleJamesB

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Oregonian File Photo

Gov Mark Hatfield made unheralded visit to test site and exchanged quips with Cunningham, offering load of Oregon lava for a load of rock from the moon. In background is Dr. John Zeiglschmid of the NASA testing staff.

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Oregonian File Photo

Astronaut Walter Cunningham makes his way up the rocky slope at McKenzie Pass.

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Oregonian File Photo

NASA technicians and astronaut Walter Cunningham climb around the basalt slopes of McKenzie Pass on August 25, 1964.

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Oregonian File Photo

Technicians help Cunningham don a prototype space suit before taking a "moonwalk" up the rocky slopes of McKenzie Pass.

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