Apollo 12
November 24, 1969
Apollo 12 splashed down safely yesterday. Pete Conrad and Alan Bean walked the Moon twice, visited Surveyor 3, and brought home 75 pounds of samples. Dick Gordon flew solo in orbit. Six men have now walked on the Moon. I keep saying this to myself: six men have walked on…
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Apollo 12
November 20, 1969
I promised earlier that I'd revisit Pete Conrad's first words on the Moon. He won a bet. His exact words deserve to be in this notebook.
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Apollo 12
November 19, 1969
Pete Conrad landed the LM within 200 meters of Surveyor 3 — a precision landing NASA could barely believe. Then he stepped onto the Moon and said exactly what he'd bet a journalist he would say. "Whoopee! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but it's a…
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Apollo 12
November 14, 1969
Apollo 12 launched today into a stormy sky. Thirty-six seconds after liftoff, lightning struck the Saturn V. Twice. The spacecraft lost power to most of its systems. Mission Control nearly called an abort. One flight controller — twenty-six-year-old John Aaron — knew exactly which switch to throw. They continued to…
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