Product Description

CD-ROM and Book. When the crew of Apollo 11 returned to earth in July 1969 they brought with them a wealth of new information about the moon. Now astronauts Charles (Pete) Conrad, Alan Bean and Richard Gordon would return to the moon and build on that knowledge. The real test for the crew of Apollo 12 was not to see if they could get to the moon, but to see if they could get to an exact place on the moon. Their target was in an area known as the Ocean of Storms. On 14 November 1969 the crew of Apollo 12 blasted off to their place in history. Not only would Conrad and Bean become the third and fourth men to walk on the moon but they would land the lunar module Intrepid within 600 feet of their designated target. Waiting for them was the unmanned space probe Surveyor 3 which had soft-landed in April 1967. The flight of Apollo 12, which began almost catastrophically when the huge Saturn V was struck by lightning just moments after lift off, went on to yield an enormous amount of valuable data collected during over seven and a half hours on the lunar surface. On their return home the crew of Apollo 12 became the first humans to witness an eclipse of the Sun by the Earth.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #609978 in Books
• Published on: 1999-11-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 248 pages

Review
"Likely to appeal to someone who likes to delve deeply into the workings of NASA..." -- Astronomy Now, August 2001. "An essential read, Apogee should be applauded for producing this material in such an attractive format..." -- Spaceflight, August 2002.

About the Author
Compiled from the NASA Archives and Edited by Robert Godwin

Customer Reviews

The only book that you need to read about Apollo 12.
Dedicated to the late Captain Charles Conrad USN, this book contains all the essential information about the second human expedition to the lunar surface.

It comprises: Apollo 12 Press Kit, Pre launch Mission Operation Report, Post Launch Mission Operation Report #1, and most importantly, the Apollo 12 Technical Crew Debriefing (formerly classified Confidential). A packed CD ROM containing interviews, NASA films and mission stills is also included.

Apollo 12,14 and 16 have never received much attention and this publication provides the long overdue "how it was done" and "what it was like" story of Apollo 12 from a 1969 perspective. The in flight press conference on the CD ROM is also particularly entertaining. Whilst the Press Kit and Pre launch reports cover similar, and in many cases old ground, they also contain much that is new and of interest, including good pictures of sleeping arrangements on page 45 and "The Snowman" on page 81.

However, this would not be a review without critisism. It would appear that the debriefing is not an illustrated document, and to liven it up the editor has inserted a selection of training and mission stills. The problem is that although these still carry their NASA designations, I suspect that most readers have neither the time or capabillity to chase them up. Good old fashioned captions would be more appropriate. We know that these are NASA reports and do not need cosmetic "officialising" of them. A personal plea from me. On future mission CD ROMs please include plenty of landing audio and video (I suppose that from PDI is too much to ask for - how about from P64).

All in all, if you've read the others, Robert GODWIN's latest is his best. If you haven't, and have any interest in real space flight, read this.

The Second Moon Landing , in contemporary detail
This book is , perhaps ,a wee bit more useful than some of the others so far in the series because Apollo 12 was , of course , the mission from which there was little media-friendly moon surface film , due to the camera element being burnt out at an early stage (what there was was upside down anyway!)

The book takes you back to the 60`s for a "before and after" view of the mission using the NASA-issue press kit from the period . By today`s slick standards , the material may look somewhat stilted but it gives you a feel for the times and is a good historical and authentic snapshot of an era of spaceflight when every new mission was pushing back the boundaries of humans` acheivement and endeavour .

I would`nt say that the book is a gripper , but it`s not supposed to be ! Anyone who wants to know more than most of the current crop of Apollo books will tell you about the technical guts and background of the mission will find much of interest and value .

The accompanying CD is great , especially the lengthy interview with CMP Dick Gordon , where he talks about the mission , the men and his views on ISS , etc . One thing which stands out is the fact that a generation has passed since the Apollo era - Gordon looks stately in old-age when recounting his recollections! With the death this July of fellow mission member Pete Conrad , this resource becomes all the more valuable .

This book (and any of the others , all of which follow the same format) deserves a place on the bookshelf of any space-history devotee , alongside the astronaut`s own works which allow us insight into the human and more personal side of the American space program in the 60`s and 70`s.

Does exactly what the title would suggest
This book is a modest 248 page account of the second lunar landing by Pete Corad and Alan Bean aboard Apollo 12.

I've recently discovered a fascination with the Apollo program and bought this book to discover more about the sometimes overlooked Apollo 12 mission. There is a great deal of original NASA documentation compiled (and edited) together in to 3 sections - Press Kit: information made available to the media before the launch, Mission Operation Report: internal NASA information and mission plans, and the Technical Debriefing of the astronauts. The included CD-ROM has a large collection of images and a few small video clips to back up the written information in the book.

Whilst the information is genuinely interesting I couldn't help feeling that you would be better off spending a few nights on the NASA website and reading the same - or in some cases more - information there. That said, as a twenty-something born in the 1980s reading copies of original documents in the format that they were originally presented, alongside NASA sketches and illustrations gives a real sense of being back in the late 1960s and being party to the excitement surrounding that exciting time.