Mission Factsheet


 
 
 
 

Conrad was a Navy Commander on his third spaceflight (previously on Gemini's 5 and 11, later to fly on Skylab 2), Bean was a Navy Lt. Commander on his first flight (he later flew on Skylab 3), and Gordon was a Navy Commander on his second flight (Gemini 11). The backup crew for this mission was David Scott, Alfred Worden, and James Irwin.

The Apollo 12 Command Module "Yankee Clipper" is on display at the Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton, Virginia. The returned Surveyor 3 camera is on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Apollo 12 was the second mission in which humans walked on the lunar surface.

Launch took place under cloudy, rain-swept skies on 14 November 1969 from Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center. The spacecraft was struck by lightning 36 seconds after launch and again 52 seconds after launch, which momentarily shut off electrical power and cut out telemetry contact. Power was automatically switched to battery backup while the crew restored the primary power system. During lunar coast, the LM was checked out to ensure no electrical damage had been caused by the lightning.

On 19 November 1969 Commander Charles P. "Pete" Conrad and Alan L. Bean landed in Oceanus Procellarum (Ocean of Storms) while CM pilot Richard F. Gordon continued in lunar orbit. Conrad made the first precision landing on another world, landing within site of the Surveyor 3 spacecraft which had been there since 1967.

Conrad and Bean performed two surface EVA's, one on 19 November and one on 20 November, during which an Apollo lunar surface experiments package (ALSEP) was placed on the lunar surface, 34.4 kg of samples of the lunar terrain were acquired, various photographs were exposed by the astronauts during lunar surface activities, and parts were taken from the Surveyor 3 spacecraft for examination.

The LM took off from the Moon on 20 November and the astronauts returned to Earth on 24 November.

Performance of the spacecraft, the first of the Apollo H-series missions, was very good for all aspects of the mission. The primary mission goals of an extensive series of lunar exploration tasks, deployment of the ALSEP, and demonstration of the ability to remain and work on the surface of the Moon for an extended period were achieved.


 
 

Crew:
Charles P. "Pete" Conrad
Alan L. Bean
Richard F. Gordon

Liftoff:
14 November 1969
16:22:00 UT
(11:22 a.m. EST)

Splashdown:
24 November 1969
20:58:24 UT
(3:58 p.m. EST)

 
 

Apollo 12 Resources:


Next

Please support this web site:
Cafe Press Apollo Explorer Store Apollo Explorer Bookstore Make a donation

Email darren@apolloexplorer.co.uk