On Nov. 14, 1969, the Apollo 12 mission introduced to the moon. Apollo 12 in Pictures: Photos from NASAs Pinpoint Moon Landing MissionA Saturn V rocket introduces NASAs Apollo 12 mission to the moon from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on Nov. 14, 1969. The Apollo 12 moonwalkers likewise carried out a lot of moon science.
On Nov. 14, 1969, the Apollo 12 mission released to the moon. This was the second moon landing of the Apollo program. The two astronauts on board were Pete Conrad, leader, and Alan Bean, the lunar module pilot. Astronaut Richard Gordon, the command module pilot, remained in the command module and orbited the moon while his crewmates went to the surface. The astronauts made a pinpoint landing in a lunar mare called the Ocean of Storms. Apollo 12 in Pictures: Photos from NASAs Pinpoint Moon Landing MissionA Saturn V rocket launches NASAs Apollo 12 objective to the moon from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on Nov. 14, 1969. (Image credit: NASA) The previous moon mission, Apollo 11, wandered far from the planned landing zone. But Apollo 12 landed near to a scientific target. That target was a robotic lander called Surveyor 3. Researchers desired to look at Surveyor 3 to see how well the spacecraft lasted on the moon because it landed there more than 2 years earlier. The Apollo 12 moonwalkers likewise carried out a lot of moon science. The astronauts selected up 75 pounds of moon rocks. Many of the rocks were basalts that formed from molten lava. These basalts showed the Apollo 12 landing website is more than 3 billion years old. Catch up on our whole “On This Day In Space” series on YouTube with this playlist. On This Day in Space Archive! Still insufficient area? Dont forget to check out our Space Image of the Day, and on the weekends our Best Space Photos and Top Space News Stories of the week. Email Hanneke Weitering at [email protected] or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us @Spacedotcom and on Facebook..