Wright was previously a systems engineer at Bendix Aerospace, and at Nasa was responsible for the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package, external.
“I was involved in the launch preparation of the experiments that the astronauts put out on the lunar surface,” he explains.
“We were living in Florida right near Kennedy Space Centre.”
The scientist even recalls a scene in the Tom Hanks-starring Apollo 13 film that brings back memories of his time at at Cape Canaveral.
“People may remember there was a bit at the beginning where there’s a young lady being talked to by one of the astronauts at a party.
“Well that happened to my wife – Fred Haise who was the lunar module pilot, spent half the evening talking to my wife.”