NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Apollo 12

Apollo 12 was the sixth manned mission in the Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (759x756, 1013 KB)[1] File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining until the end of the year. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is a high-precision atomic time standard. ... Merritt Island and Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is the NASA space vehicle launch facility (spaceport) at Cape Canaveral on Merritt Island in Florida, United States. ... The aerial view of Launch Complex 39. ... November 19 is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Lunar Ferroan Anorthosite #60025 (Plagioclase Feldspar). ... November 24 is the 328th day (329th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... A diagram of Keplerian orbital elements. ... A diagram of Keplerian orbital elements. ... A diagram of Keplerian orbital elements. ... A diagram of Keplerian orbital elements. ... The orbital period is the time it takes a planet (or another object) to make one full orbit. ... Inclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction. ... The Command/Service Module (CSM) was a spacecraft built for NASA by North American Aviation. ... Â¹ Â² Â³ â„¢ bob loves cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee: The LEM flight instrumentation panel and front windows. ... Image File history File links Apollo_12_crew. ... Project Apollo was a series of human spaceflight missions undertaken by the United States of America (NASA) using the Apollo spacecraft and Saturn launch vehicle, conducted during the years 1961â€“1975. ... Bulk composition of the Moons mantle and crust estimated, weight percent Oxygen 42. ...

Crew

*Number in parentheses indicates number of spaceflights by each individual prior to and including this mission. Charles Pete Conrad, Jr. ... Richard F. Gordon, Jr. ... Alan LaVern Bean (born March 15, 1932 in Wheeler, Texas) is a former NASA Astronaut. ...

Backup crew

David Randolph Scott (born June 6, 1932) a former NASA Astronaut, was one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963 and is one of only twelve men who have walked on the moon. ... Gemini 8 (officially Gemini VIII) was a 1966 manned spaceflight in NASAs Gemini program. ... Apollo 9 was the third manned mission in the Apollo program, a ten day earth-orbital mission launched 3 March 1969. ... Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the Apollo program and the fourth mission to land on the Moon. ... Alfred Merrill Worden (born February 7, American astronaut who was the command module pilot for the Apollo 15 moon mission in July_August 1971. ... Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the Apollo program and the fourth mission to land on the Moon. ... Apollo 15 Lunar Module Pilot Jim Irwin James Irwins Apollo 15 space suit James Benson Irwin (March 17, 1930 â€“ August 8, 1991) was a member of the Apollo 15 mission and the eighth man to walk on the Moon. ... Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the Apollo program and the fourth mission to land on the Moon. ...

Support crew

Gerald P. Carr is a retired United States Marine Corps Colonel and former NASA astronaut. ... Skylab 4 or SL-4 was the fourth Skylab mission. ... Edward G. Gibson, Ph. ... Skylab 4 or SL-4 was the fourth Skylab mission. ... Astronaut Paul J. Weitz Paul J. Weitz (pronounced WHITES) (born July 25, 1932) was an American astronaut who flew in space twice. ... Skylab 2 or SL-2 was the first human spaceflight mission to Skylab, the first U.S. orbital space station. ... STS-6 was a space shuttle mission by NASA using the Space Shuttle Challenger, launched April 4, 1983. ...

Flight directors

Mission parameters

LM — CSM docking

November 19 is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ...

EVAs

EVA 1 start: November 19, 1969, 11:32:35 UTC

November 19 is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ...

EVA 1 end: November 19, 15:28:38 UTC

EVA 2 start: November 20, 1969, 03:54:45 UTC

November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ...

EVA 2 end: November 20, 07:44:00 UTC

Quotes

Whoopie! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one for me. — Pete Conrad (somewhat shorter in stature than Armstrong) as he stepped onto the lunar surface for the first time.

Mission highlights

Shortly after lift-off from Cape Canaveral, the Saturn V rocket body was hit by a bolt of upper-atmosphere lightning. The CM's instruments momentarily went off-line and Mission Control lost the telemetry feeds from the spacecraft for several seconds. When ground control regained telemetry lock with the spacecraft, the feeds were garbled and reported incomplete and possibly inaccurate information. EECOM John Aaron thought that the garbled telemetry might be caused by a malfunction in the launch vehicle's Signal Condition Equipment, since the SCE converted raw instrument data into forms usable by spacecraft instrument displays and ground telemetry equipment (source), and it would have automatically gone off-line in response to the kind of disruption to the spacecraft's electrical systems that a lightning strike would cause (source). Download high resolution version (800x799, 167 KB)Apollo 12 - Alan Bean descends from LM. (NASA) http://www. ... Download high resolution version (800x799, 167 KB)Apollo 12 - Alan Bean descends from LM. (NASA) http://www. ... Download high resolution version (950x950, 187 KB)Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean holds a special environmental sample container which holds soil collected during the second moonwalk EVA. Commander Charles Pete Conrad had just put a soil sample in the tube with a shovel. ... Download high resolution version (950x950, 187 KB)Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean holds a special environmental sample container which holds soil collected during the second moonwalk EVA. Commander Charles Pete Conrad had just put a soil sample in the tube with a shovel. ... Download high resolution version (904x911, 172 KB) Charles Conrad Jr. ... Download high resolution version (904x911, 172 KB) Charles Conrad Jr. ... Download high resolution version (900x900, 182 KB)NASA photo of the Surveyor 3 probe, being visited by astronaut Conrad of Apollo 12 (visible in background) http://www. ... Download high resolution version (900x900, 182 KB)NASA photo of the Surveyor 3 probe, being visited by astronaut Conrad of Apollo 12 (visible in background) http://www. ... Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Emergency, Environmental and Consumables Manager (call sign: EECOM) is a space flight control room position at NASAs Mission Control Center. ... ï»¿ ï»¿John W. Aaron is a former NASA engineer and mission controller during the Apollo program. ...

With this in mind, Aaron suggested the crew "Try SCE to aux" – thereby forcing the Signal Condition Equipment to switch over to its auxiliary power source and bringing the SCE back on-line. The command was a relatively obscure one and neither the Flight Director, CAPCOM, or Mission Commander Conrad could immediately recall how to implement it; however, LMP Al Bean remembered that the SCE switch was on his panel because of a training incident a year prior to launch where just such a failure had been simulated. Aaron's quick thinking and Bean's memory were able to salvage what otherwise would have been an aborted mission (at the time of the failure, the flight had just entered abort mode One Bravo). With telemetry restored, the crew proceeded to parking orbit and was able to fully restore and verify the functionality of their spacecraft before re-igniting the S-IVB third stage for trans-lunar injection. Chief of Flight Operations during a NASA space mission. ... During much of the U.S. manned space program, NASA felt it was important for all communication with the astronauts in space to pass through a single individual in the Mission Control Center. ... During the course of the launch of an Apollo spacecraft by the Saturn V rocket there were several ways for the crew and computers to abort the flight. ... The S-IVB (sometimes S4b) was built by the Douglas Aircraft Company and served as the third stage on the Saturn V and second stage on the Saturn IB. It had one J-2 engine. ... Trans Lunar Injection (TLI) is a term describing the propulsion maneuver used to set a spacecraft on a trajectory which will intersect the Moon. ...

The S-IVB was originally intended to be put into a solar orbit by venting the remaining propellant. However an extra long burn of the ullage motors meant that venting the remaining propellant in the tank of the S-IVB did not give the rocket stage enough energy to escape the Earth-Moon system and instead the stage ended up in a semi-stable orbit around the Earth after passing by the Moon in November 18, 1969. It finally entered into solar orbit 1971, but returned to Earth orbit (briefly) 31 years later. It was discovered by amateur astronomer Bill Yeung and he gave it the temporary designation J002E3 before it was determined to be an artificial object. In a barrel or wine bottle, for example, ullage is the space within the container but above the liquid. ... November 18 is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... William Kwong Yu Yeung or Bill Yeung is a Canadian astronomer with telescopes based in the United States. ... The S-IVB stage from the Apollo 7 flight in Earth orbit. ...

The Apollo 12 mission landed on an area of the Ocean of Storms that had been visited earlier by several unmanned missions (Luna 5, Surveyor 3, and Ranger 7). The International Astronomical Union, recognizing this, christened this region Mare Cognitium (Known Sea). The landing site would thereafter be listed as Statio Cognitium on lunar maps (Conrad and Bean did not formally name their landing site, interestingly enough, though the intended touchdown point was nicknamed Pete's Parking Lot by Conrad). Luna 5 was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 5. ... Surveyor 3 was the third lunar lander of the Surveyor program that explored the Moon. ... First image of the Moon taken by a US spacecraft. ... Logo of the IAU The International Astronomical Union (French: Union astronomique internationale) unites national astronomical societies from around the world. ... Statio Cognitium (Known Base) is the IAU moniker for the lunar landing site of Apollo 12 (Lunar co-ordinates are 3 Degrees, 0 minutes, 44. ...

The second lunar landing was an exercise in precision targeting. The descent was automatic, with only a few manual corrections by Conrad. Although Apollo 11 had made an almost embarrassingly imprecise landing well outside the designated target area, Apollo 12 succeeded, on November 19, in making a pin-point landing, within walking distance (less than 200 meters) of the Surveyor 3 probe, which had landed on the Moon in April 1967. Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. ... November 19 is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Surveyor 3 was the third lunar lander of the Surveyor program that explored the Moon. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ...

Conrad actually landed Intrepid 580 feet short of Pete's Parking Lot because the planned landing point looked rougher than anticipated during the final approach to touchdown. The planned landing point was a little under 1180 feet from Surveyor 3, a distance that was chosen to eliminate the possibility of lunar dust (being kicked up by Intrepid's descent engine during landing) from covering Surveyor 3. But the actual touchdown point — 600 feet from Surveyor 3 — did cause a thin film of dust to coat the probe, giving it a light tan hue.

To improve the quality of television pictures from the Moon, a color camera was carried on Apollo 12 (unlike the monochrome camera that was used on Apollo 11). Unfortunately, when Bean carried the camera to the place near the lunar module where it was to be set up, he inadvertently pointed it directly into the Sun, destroying the vidicon tube. Television coverage of this mission was thus terminated almost immediately. Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. ... In older video cameras, prior to the 1990s, a video camera tube or pickup tube was used instead of a charge-coupled device (CCD). ...

Conrad and Bean removed pieces of the Surveyor 3, to be taken back to Earth for analysis, and took two Moon-walks lasting just under four hours each. Perhaps the most important part of Surveyor 3 the astronauts collected was its camera. A common bacterium, Streptococcus mitis, was found to have accidentally contaminated the spacecraft's camera prior to launch. Around 50 to 100 of these bacteria survived dormant in this harsh environment for two and a half years [1]. Surveyor 3 was the third lunar lander of the Surveyor program that explored the Moon. ... Phyla/Divisions Actinobacteria Aquificae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chlamydiae/Verrucomicrobia Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Nitrospirae Omnibacteria Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Bacteria (singular, bacterium) are a major group of living organisms. ...

Astronauts Conrad and Bean also collected rocks and set up equipment that took measurements of the Moon's seismicity, solar wind flux and magnetic field, and relayed the measurements to Earth. (By accident Bean left several rolls of exposed film on the lunar surface.) Meanwhile Gordon, on board the Yankee Clipper in lunar orbit, took multispectral photographs of the surface.

The lunar plaque attached to the descent stage of Intrepid is unique in that unlike the other lunar plaques, it (a) did not have a depiction of the Earth, and (b) it was textured differently (the other plaques had black lettering on polished stainless steel while the Apollo 12 plaque had the lettering in polished stainless steel while the background was brushed flat). Lunar Plaques are square stainless steel plaques (9 x 7 5/8) attached to the ladders on the descent stages of the lunar modules used from Apollo 11 thru Apollo 17. ...

Intrepid's ascent stage was dropped (per normal procedures) after Conrad and Bean rejoined Gordon in orbit. It impacted the Moon on 20 November 1969 at 3.94 S, 21.20 W. The seismometers the astronauts had left on the lunar surface registered the vibrations for more than an hour. November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ...

The crew stayed an extra day in lunar orbit taking photographs, for a total lunar stay of thirty-one and a half hours.

Yankee Clipper landed on 24 November 1969, at 20:58 UTC (3:58pm EST, 10:58am HST), approximately 500 miles (800 km) east of American Samoa. During landing, a 16mm camera dislodged from storage and struck Bean in the forehead, rendering him briefly unconscious. He suffered a mild concussion, and needed six stitches. November 24 is the 328th day (329th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is a high-precision atomic time standard. ... EDT (shown in yellow) is UTC-4 The Eastern Time Zone of the Western Hemisphere falls mostly along the east coast of Northern America and the west coast of South America. ... HST is UTC-10 The Hawaii-Aleutian Time Zone observes Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (HST) all year round, by subtracting ten hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC-10). ...

The Yankee Clipper is displayed at the Virginia Air and Space Center, Hampton, Virginia. Its recovery ship, the USS Hornet, is now open to the public as a museum in Alameda, California. On September 17, 1861, Mrs. ... Nickname: The Island City Location in the state of California and Alameda County County Alameda Mayor Beverly Johnson (D) Area - City 59. ...

Trivia

Playboy is an American adult entertainment magazine, founded in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, which has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc. ... Pornographic movies Pornography (from Greek Ï€ÏŒÏÎ½Î· (porni) prostitute and Î³ÏÎ±Ï†Î® (grafi) writing), more informally referred to as porn or porno, is the representation of the human body or sexual activity with the goal of sexual arousal. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... HBO (Home Box Office) is a premium cable television network with headquarters in New York City. ... From the Earth to the Moon is a twelve-part HBO television miniseries (1998) co-produced by Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Tom Hanks, and Michael Bostick detailing the landmark Apollo expeditions to the Moon during the 1960s and early 1970s. ... Paul McCrane as Dr. Romano on ER. Paul David McCrane (born January 19, 1961) is an American movie, television and theatre actor. ... Tom Verica (born May 13, 1964) is an American actor perhaps best known for his role of Jack Pryor on the NBC drama American Dreams. ... Dave Foley. ... Peter Scolari Peter Scolari (born September 12, 1954 in New Rochelle, New York) is an American television, film and stage actor who was seen early in his career in the television program Bosom Buddies (1980 - 1982) and later in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show (1997 - 2000). ...

Mission insignia

The Apollo 12 mission patch shows the crew's Navy background. It features a clipper ship arriving at the moon. The ship trails fire and flies the flag of the United States. The mission name APOLLO XII and the crew names are on a wide gold border, with a small blue trim. Blue and gold are traditionally Navy colors. The patch has four stars on it — one each for the three astronauts who flew the mission and one for Clifton Williams. Williams was killed on October 5, 1967, after a mechanical failure caused the controls of his T-38 trainer to stop responding. He had been assigned to the back-up crew for what would be the Apollo 9 mission and would have most likely been assigned as Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 12. For other uses, see Clipper (disambiguation). ... Following is a list of angels in Enochian. ... Clifton C.C. Williams (September 26, 1932 - October 5, 1967) was a NASA astronaut and USMC Major who was killed after a mechanical failure caused the flight controls in a T-38 he was piloting to stop responding. ... October 5 is the 278th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (279th in Leap years). ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Apollo 9 was the third manned mission in the Apollo program, a ten day earth-orbital mission launched 3 March 1969. ...

Contents

Crew

Backup crew

Support crew

Flight directors

Mission parameters

LM — CSM docking

EVAs

EVA 1 start: November 19, 1969, 11:32:35 UTC

EVA 1 end: November 19, 15:28:38 UTC

EVA 2 start: November 20, 1969, 03:54:45 UTC

EVA 2 end: November 20, 07:44:00 UTC

Quotes

Mission highlights

Trivia

Mission insignia

See also

References

External links