Ten days ago, their Saturn V rocket had blasted Bean and his crew mates out of earth’s gravitational pull. Now their home planet was pulling them back at more than 24,000 miles per hour, twelve times faster than a high-speed rifle bullet. “Boy,” said Bean, “we are really hauling!” Homepage with pictures
Dick Gordon opened the tunnel to Intrepid, saw his companions floating in a dirty cloud of moon dust, and slammed the hatch closed. He called out, “You guys ain’t gonna mess up my nice clean spacecraft!” Homepage with pictures
After a total of 31.6 hours on the moon, the Lunar Module ascent stage fired for about 7 minutes placing Intrepid into an orbit of 10 miles by 54 miles. Homepage with pictures
Conrad and Bean now walked north, up Surveyor Crater’s 14 degree slope. Fatigue set in as Pete and Al walked up the crater wall. The hand tool carrier was nearly full of rocks now and Bean felt the full weight of it. Homepage with pictures
Surveyor 3 was now to their right, 300 feet away, gleaming in the morning sunlight. Antennas and sensors still reached upward from its tubular frame, just as they had on April 20, 1967, when the spacecraft thumped onto the moon amid blasts from its braking rockets. Homepage with pictures.
The problem with running into the sun was it was so bright that Conrad and Bean could not see the moon’s surface features until they were right on top of them. Homepage with Pictures
While Conrad led the way, Bean watched the ground for something interesting. It wasn’t easy to do field geology while running, and on the moon. Homepage with pictures
Pete and Al could not hear the excited shouts of the geologists in the back room down the hall from mission control, but they knew they had found something significant. Homepage with pictures
Most of the remaining moon walk time was spent collecting rock samples, making surface observations such as the small mounds or hills, and taking pictures. Homepage with Pictures
According to the checklist, Bean was allowed 5 minutes to gain his balance and learn to walk on the Moon. Bean was amazed at his new buoyancy saying, “You can jump up in the air…” But Conrad wanted to press on saying, “Hustle, boy, hustle! We’ve got a lot of work to do.” Homepage with Pictutures
“The old Surveyor, yes sir. It can’t be any more than 600 feet from here. How about that?” (Pete Conrad.) Homepage with Pictures
“Hey, there it is! There it is! Son of a gun, right down the middle of the road! Look out there! I can’t believe it! Fantastic!” Pete Conrad when he saw his landing site. Homepage with Pictures
There was adrenaline in Pete Conrad’s voice as he counted down the last seconds before ignition. He and Bean were still weightless, but their bodies were secured to the cabin floor by harnesses. “Seven, six, five.” Conrad pushed the PROCEED button on the computer, and a moment later Intrepid’s descent engine ignited 50,000 feet above the moon. Homepage with Pics
At 83 hours mission elapsed time, the long lunar coast was almost over. It was time for the lunar orbit insertion burn. This burn would put Yankee Clipper and Intrepid into lunar orbit. Homepage with Pics
It was impossible to check out the entire spacecraft; that could only be done on the ground. In the short time available, Griffin’s team ran a pre-maneuver check list, re-aligned the CSM platform, and discussed proceeding with the mission with the crew. Homepage with Pics.
John Aaron’s (EECOM) next call made him a legend in Mission Control. He said quickly and confidently, “Flight, try S-C-E to Aux.” Homepage with pics
It was 68 degrees, overcast, and raining at Cape Kennedy on November 14, 1969. The ceiling was 2,100 feet and the winds were light. There was some discussion, while the astronauts were suiting-up, of scrubbing the launch, but that would mean ramping this whole thing down, draining every drop of fuel out of the Saturn, and sitting on their hands for a twenty-eight-day hold. Homepage with Pics
The Saturn V’s control system was housed inside and also referred to as the Instrument Unit (IU). Marshall Space Flight Centers Astrionics Laboratory categorized the IU as the “brain” and “nerve center” of Saturn V. Homepage with Pics
Pete Conrad joined NASA as part of the second group of astronauts, known as the New Nine, on September 17, 1962. He was regarded as one of the best pilots in the group, and was among the first of his group to be assigned a Gemini mission.
The third man to walk on the moon, Charles Conrad Jr. was born on June 2, 1930, in Philadelphia, to Charles and Frances Conrad. He was their third child and their first son. Homepage with Pictures