Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the Moon, and his company learned a great deal about the Moon when they used the moon buggy, a four-wheeled exploration vehicle technically known as the Lunar Rover. The conceptual design of this ingenious vehicle was by a Filipino named Eduardo C. San Juan.
San Juan, a Mapua Institute of Technology graduate who studied nuclear engineering at the University of Washington in the United States, started as troubleshooter for US-based Inter-continental Ballistic Missiles in the 1960s. When he learned of a national invitation by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to design a space exploration vehicle, he submitted his design. His design bested other entries up to the final tests so that it was the one fabricated for subsequent use by the Apollo series.
Not only that, the very creative San Juan also conceptualized other designs for NASA like that of space shelters as well as jet propulsion and missile trajectory control systems, ground lasers, and space-based platforms for private firms. Despite what was definitely a very good life abroad, he thought that our country has a greater need for his talent so that he decided to go back here in the late 1970s where he worked as a university professor and spoke at school science fairs and to children in economically challenged areas. He always told his audience to reach for the stars like he did. He passed away in 1988, but his legacy of exemplary scientific innovation and unquestionable love for country will never wane.
Sources:
► The Lunar rover and Eduardo San Juan. 25 February 2007. http://hownow.brownpau.com/arcchieves/2007/02/the _lunar_rover_and_eduardo_san_juan/
► Who are the famous scientists? http://ph.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070616015024AAJ5fZv