On this day in space! Nov. 14, 1969: NASA's Apollo 12 astronauts launch to the moon on a 'pinpoint landing' lunar mission
The Apollo 12 astronauts on NASA's second crewed moon landing mission.
Key points
- The astronauts made a pinpoint landing in a lunar mare called the Ocean of Storms.
- The previous moon mission, Apollo 11, drifted far from the planned landing zone.
- To truly explore the moon and advance our understanding of how our solar system formed, the follow-on Apollo flights needed to be able to land where the geologists had identified as areas of interest.
(Image credit: NASA) The launch of Apollo 12 also underscored the importance of having a well-prepared Mission Control team, an asset that would be critical to outcome of the next mission, Apollo 13.
(Image credit: NASA) Why it mattered Apollo 12 proved that the Apollo 11 moon landing was not just a one-off stunt while setting the stage for even more ambitious missions.
Additional details
- The Apollo 12 astronauts visited NASA's Surveyor 3 lander and took samples of it back to Earth.
- Check out our full On This Day In Space Story archive and watch our On This Day In Space videos on YouTube.
- The two astronauts on board were Pete Conrad, commander, and Alan Bean, the lunar module pilot.
- These basalts showed the Apollo 12 landing site is more than 3 billion years old.
- Astronaut Richard Gordon, the command module pilot, stayed in the command module and orbited the moon while his crewmates went to the surface.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
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