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♪♪ >> april 19th, 1967, surveyor 3 landed on the moon in a crater of the ocean of storms. with surveyors' electronic eye we viewed the lunar surface. with its mechanical arm we dug a small shallow trench in the lunar soil. now on november 14th, 1969, 31 months after surveyor's landing, men were leaving the earth to land on the ocean of storms. charles pete conrad, richard gordon, alan bean, the crew of

apollo 12 the second manned landing on the face of the moon. their target, the site of surveyor 3. >> ignition sequence start. six, five, four, three, two, one, zero. all engines running. commit, liftoff. >> apollo 12 lifted off in the driving rain. >> pete conrad reports the program is in. tower clear. >> 36 seconds later lightning struck the spacecraft. >> i don't know what happened here. we had everything in the world

drop out. >> i'm not sure if you got hit by lightning. >> fuel cell butts, ac bus lights, ac bus overload 1 and 2, main bus a and b out. >> okay. we are all organized again, john. we have had a couple cardiac arrests down here, too, pete. >> i will tell you one thing, it's a first class ride, houston. >> you've got a go orbit. you're looking good. >> in space and on earth they checked out the systems to be sure that the lightning had caused no damage that would endanger the mission. the time for commitment neared. the burn to send apollo 12 to the moon. trans lunar injection, tli. >> apollo 12, houston, the good word is you're go for tli.

>> we're ready. >> we didn't expect anything else. >> we didn't train for anything else, pete. >> you better believe it. >> we have data and thrust is go. burn looks good. >> with engine cut off apollo 12 was on its way to the moon. now they turned around to dock with the lunar module and pull it free of the now useless booster. >> we've got a hard dock, houston. she looks good. >> the next burn would place apollo 12 on a new path to the moon. previous missions have followed a trajectory that would allow them to loop around the moon and with no further burns return to earth. but apollo 12 in order to land at the proper site with the proper lighting would break out of the free return path. should a failure occur, a burn

to the surface or lunar module engine would be needed to get them home. >> seven, six, five, two, one, ignition thrust. >> four, five, six. very good. >> now they settle down to the routine of the outward flight. >> we're trying all these things that we didn't have in gemini, like toothpaste and shaving. we're really having a ball up here. >> roger. all dressed up and no place to go. >> oh, we're going someplace. we can see it getting bigger and bigger all the time. >> then on november 17th they prepared for orbit around the moon. >> our motion to the left is not as apparent as our motion

towards the moon, therefore, we have decided that we're going right into the center of that baby right now. >> okay, houston, we're maneuvering to the burn attitude. >> rog, we copy the 12. >> we're beginning to go in the darkness at this time. >> roger 12. >> as a matter of fact, we're there. >> hello, 12, houston, you're go for loi. >> roger, houston, go for loi. burn checklist is complete to minus six minutes and we're holding at that point. >> loi, lunar orbit insertion, the burn of the spacecraft rocket engine that would place apollo 12 into orbit around the moon. with this burn occurring behind the moon there would be no communications with the spacecraft until it came over the lunar horizon. the command module yankee clipper, the lunar module

intrepid. >> apollo 12, houston. >> hello, houston. yankee clipper with intrepid in tow has arrived on time. i guess like everybody else it just arrived, all three of us are plastered to the windows looking. >> the next day pete conrad and alan bean entered the lunar module leaving dick gordon in the command module. now the intrepid and yankee clipper undocked preparing for the descent and landing on the moon. >> okay. here we go again. >> back off, dick. >> here he goes.

>> houston [ inaudible ]. >> affirmative, pete. >> as with the orbit insertion burn, the burn to begin descent was made behind the moon. mission control again contacted intrepid as it came over the horizon. >> intrepid, houston, how do you read? >> hello, houston, intrepid. we read you loud and clear. >> we had a great doi burn. >> [ inaudible ] which was fantastic. >> the surveyor 3 target was located in the middle of five craters arranged like a snowman, the upper crater called head crater, the body called surveyor crater. surveyor 3 is located in this crater. the object to land as close as possible to surveyor crater. then at 50,000 feet intrepid's

engine fired and began the landing sequence. >> okay. we are out at 19,000 feet. i have some kind of a horizon out there, i have the craters, too, but i don't know where i am yet. >> okay. >> 264. >> okay. >> i'm trying to cheat and look out there. i think i see my crater. >> hey, baby. >> i'm not sure. >> coming through 7. b 64, pete. >> p 64. there it is. there it is. son of a gun, straight down the middle of the road. >> outstanding. 42 degrees, pete. 42. >> i can't believe it. amazing. fantastic. 42 degrees. >> gliding in. >> coming down at 99 feet a second. you're looking good. >> go for landing. >> 40 degrees. >> i can't believe it. >> you are at 2,000 feet. >> boys underground do okay. 1800 feet up, 39 degrees.

38 degrees, 36 degrees, you're 1,200 feet, pete. 1,000 feet coming town at 30. looks good out there. looks good. 32 degrees. you are at 800 feet. 32 degrees. 600 feet. >> look at that crater, right where it's supposed to be. they're beautiful. due 40 coming down in 5. you're really maneuvering around. come on down, pete. >> okay. 10% fuel. >> 200 feet coming down at 3, need to come on down. 180 feet. 9%. you are looking good. going to get some dust before long. 96 feet coming down at 6. slow down the descent rate. el 0 feet, coming down at 4. you're looking good. 50 feet coming down. watching for dust. 40 coming down. looking good. coming down at 2. you have plenty of gas. plenty of gas.

hang in there. >> 30 seconds. >> coming down in 2. he's got a made. >> contact light. >> roger, copy contact. >> pro. >> big storm off. >> okay. >> you have your command override off. >> yes. >> the good thing we leveled off high. >> yeah. >> and came down because i sure couldn't see what was underneath us once i got into that sun. it's a nice place to land. >> look at those boulders out there on the horizon, pete. >> as conrad and bean began preparations for their first trip of exploration men on earth began their attempts to fix their exact landing site. they were aided by dick gordon orbiting in yankee clipper. >> i have intrepid. i have intrepid. >> well done, clipper.

>> we are on the crater, the surveyor crater diameter to the northwest. >> roger. >> dick gordon using the 28 power sexton for these sightings. >> i see surveyor. i see surveyor. >> roger, clipper. good eyeball. well done. >> a major goal of apollo 12 had been accomplished because before man can be engaged in meaningful lunar exploration they must be able to pick a precise site and get there. but now it was time to exit the intrepid and begin the exploration and experiments. conrad climbed out first.

>> approach. hey, i will tell you what we're right next to. >> yeah. >> we are about 25 feet in front of the surveyor. >> that's good. that's where we wanted to be. >> i bet you when i get down to the bottom of the ladder i can see the surveyor. >> okay. >> that may have been a small one for neil, but that's a long one for me. >> you will never believe it. guess what i see sitting on the side of the crater? the old surveyor, yes, sir. does that look neat? it can't be any further than 600 feet from here. how about that. >> how pete conrad collected a

preliminary geological sample. >> i had the impression i don't want to move too rapidly, but i can walk quite well. seems a little weird. i don't think you're going to steam around here. hey, al, i could work out here all day. >> take your time. >> now al bean left intrepid to join conrad on the surface of the moon. >> good shape. >> yeah, i will get the hatch closed here. >> okay. don't lock it. >> if i would have landed 20 feet behind where i landed we would have landed right smack in

that crater. >> inadvertently the television camera was pointed directly at the sun causing a tube to burn out, the only unsuccessful aspect of the entire mission. >> houston. >> pete, go ahead. >> okay. yeah, we have the flag up. if we are to put it up. >> that's permanent, pete, and we're proud of what you're doing. >> they prepared an experiments package to be left on the moon, an automated scientific station called lsep that would send information to earth for a year powered by a nuclear electric generator. >> okay. and we're off. we have to be able to move out. >> they moved to the site selected to set up the station.

>> there's another one of those mounds over there. >> hey, you're right. >> what do you suppose they are? >> i don't know. it looks like a small volcano. >> they put together the experiment station. >> how far do you have to be from the lemm? 600 feet? >> lsep an acronym for apollo lunar surface experiments package, piece by piece they assembled the station. >> okay. we have the solar wind deployed here. >> the solar wind deployment to measure atomic particles thrown off by the sun as they strike the moon. a device to measure the moon's tenuous atmosphere. a magna tomter to measure the lunar magnetic field which would be found to be 10 to 20 times

stronger than many scientists had expected. a size momenter to measure physical properties of the crust and interior and the beta station to collect the experimental measurements and transmit them to earth. with lsep deployed conrad and bean began collecting geological samples. >> look at this. son of a gun. i've got to have that. >> they drove a core tube into the surface to collect soil from various depths. >> i'm core tubing it right now. >> we show your three hours and seven minutes into t into the eva, and we would like you back to the lemm to start the close out in ten minutes. that's at 3 plus 17. >> i hope to get back to that

lemm. we are a long way. >> houston, we are approaching the lsep heading back to the lemm. >> pete, now we're picking up your heavy footprints going by the seismometer. >> okay. i mean, we ought to dust each other off. man, we are filthy. coming up the ladder. >> you're shaking the whole lemm. >> sorry about that. >> yankee clipper, houston. >> clipper, you were sort of the forgotten man for a little while. all eyes are on you now. we're with you. >> as dick gordon circled the moon pete conrad and al bean rested for their next expedition. their total time on the lunar surface had been just under four

hours. 12 1/2 hours later they went out again. >> one step. okay, houston. >> roger. >> copy, pete. >> before they began their geological expedition of the craters and surveyor they worked around the lunar module getting ready the tools and containers they would need. >> putting the parts back on pete right now, houston. >> roger. we copy that. >> i wonder what happened since yesterday. >> i don't know, i think everybody learned -- >> okay. >> as bean readied the equipment conrad went out to the lsep station to check an instrument about which the earth-based scientists had shown some concern. >> i will go out to the lsep and check the side. i will point you at .1 ahead crater. >> houston, pete has put his way

to the lsep. >> after conrad checked the lsep experiments they began the geological traverse during which they would cover a mile and take samples from six craters. >> you get a big surprise when you look into head crater, it's a heck of a lot deeper than it looks. >> okay. >> there you go. that's a food rock. look at the pits in it, too. this is going to be a good rock, houston. >> okay. houston, i'm coming up on ben's crater right now. >> there's some big fragments out here. >> pictures. what a fantastic site. al, look at the bottom of that crater. >> here are some good rock samples right here. come on. >> why don't we shop here and look at the chart a little bit more closely. >> man, does that one look small back there. >> pete, we show you're 1,200 feet from the lemm. >> okay. do you know what i feel like,

al? >> what? >> did you ever see those pictures of giraffes running in slow motion, that's exactly what i feel like. i get the decided feeling i'm going to sleep tonight. >> then they arrived at surveyor, their target. while the surveyor activities were a bonus, they were symbolic. symbolic of the success of apollo 12. >> yeah, we are just going to move to the area. now, look, you can see which way it came in. see the way this gear pad dug in over here. >> yeah. they're still sitting there. >> okay. houston, i'm jiggling it. the surveyor is firmly planted here, that's no problem. >> okay, al, we're ready to start getting the tv camera. >> okay. >> do you see that material disintegrate? >> hey, that cuts easy. >> okay.

two more tubes on the tv camera and that baby is ours. done. there you go. >> in the bag. in the bag. >> i have to zip it up. >> good show. >> let me cut the scoop off. >> sure. you didn't think you were going to leave the scoop, did you? >> let's head for blackened crater. >> so they left surveyor, after a stop at the crater called block they were back at the lunar module collecting the solar wind experiment, stowing the rock boxes. >> it's really ridiculous, i got dust all over the rock box and i'm trying to blow it off. >> bean reentered the lunar module first, conrad using a transfer apparatus similar to a clothesline reel sent the samples up to him, then conrad, too, left the lunar surface. >> okay. houston, if you can mark me off

the lunar surface. >> roger, we've got that, pete, at 3 hours and 50 minutes off the eva. >> but there was no time to rest. the lunar module had to be prepared for liftoff from the moon and rendezvous with yankee clipper. >> looking good, pete. >> three, two, one, liftoff. and away we go. >> roger. >> we are on our way. >> okay. >> everything looks good. >> so they rose to their rendezvous and from dick gordon and yankee clipper.

>> -- amongst all the sand dunes. >> about a half a mile, 19 feet a second. >> you're looking better all the time, yankee. >> three feet a second. >> intrepid now station keeping with the yankee clipper. >> the two vehicles moved together for docking. >> okay. steady as a rock. >> now conrad and bean rejoin dick gordon in the command module, bringing with them the samples, experiments and photographs to be returned to earth. the next step, jettison the lunar module, then send it crashing into the moon to help

calibrate the size momenter left on the surface. this instrument was designed to measure the intensity of meteor impacts, moon quacks, landslides and similar phenomena. >> guidance and control officer reports that the two spacecraft have separated. >> apollo 12, houston, the lemm is on its way down. >> the men on earth monitored the output of the seismometer waiting for impact. >> countdown for lemm impact. three, two, one, mark. lemm impact. >> as for the meaning of it, i'd rather not make an interpretation right now, but it is as though one had struck a bell, say, in the belfry of the church, a single blow and found

that the reverberations from it continued for 30 minutes. >> after 55 minutes the reverberations still had not faded completely. apollo 12 continued its orbits of the moon gathering photography for the landing site for apollo 13. then it was time to head back to earth. >> roger. bye-bye. see you on the other side. >> the burn to send them home would take place behind the moon. on earth we waited. waited for apollo 12 once more. >> apollo 12 houston. >> hello, houston. apollo 12 en route home. >> shortly before re-entry the crew of apollo 12 watched the earth move to blot out the sun. >> we're getting a spectacular

view, using the sun filter looking through and it's unbelievable. >> then apollo 12 hit the atmosphere of earth at 25,000 miles an hour. >> we concur, pete. ♪♪ ♪♪ >> but the log of apollo 12 does not end with splash down, it only begins. >> we have the grapefruit rock of all grapefruit rocks. >> we're looking at a rock that

has all crystals in it. >> and on the moon an experimental station called lsap sends back its data. each experiment representing a milestone in our knowledge of the moon. >> the lunar atmosphere has opinion turned on and i'm very happy to say it is functioning perfectly. >> the solar wind spectrometer has been functioning since they have also been turned on. >> the seismic experiment as has been reported is functioning in all respects properly. >> i think it will represent a major discovery of completely unanticipated about the moon. >> we're going to have to throw the book away and begin over again which seems to be the case for the moon in general. >> apollo 12 was a milestone in manned extraterrestrial exploration. it achieved its pinpoint landing, as close as possible to its selected target marked by

surveyor. it set a pace and a pattern of scientific exploration that future missions will not only follow, but will go beyond.

on april 11th, 1970, apollo 13 blasted off on what was to be the third nasa mission to land humans on the moon. next, on reel america, apollo 13, houston, we've got a problem, the 1970 nasa documentary that tells the story of the crisis which nearly left three astronauts stranded in space. >> this little tape recorder has been a big benefit to us in passing time away in our transit out to the mound and it's rather odd to see us floating like this in odyssey. while it's playing the scene from 2011. >> april 13th, 1970. the mood could only be described adds