That Other Moonlanding in 1969

In 1969, there were TWO manned lunar landings. The second one is not well-remembered by most people. In part, that’s because Apollo 12 was anticlimactic compared to Apollo 11.

But there was another reason. No TV.

COLOR Television Planned

The plan was for much better TV than Apollo 11 had. They brought a color TV camera to the moon. (Armstrong and Aldrin only had black and white.) But while adjusting the camera, astronaut Alan Bean accidentally pointed it at the sun—and it never worked again.

Out of site, out of mind. The mission itself was amazing and eventful. On launch, the spacecraft was hit by lightning TWICE, and lost electrical power. Some quick thinking and help from the ground restored power and saved the mission.

As for the landing itself, commander Pete Conrad managed a precision touchdown, landing within walking distance of the unmanned Surveyor spacecraft that NASA had sent to the moon a few years earlier. The crew cut off a camera from the Surveyor and brought it back to earth.

That mission was in November 1969, and now it is November 2008. Today, Alan Bean is a painter who tries to re-produce the experience of spaceflight on canvas. Commander Peter Conrad died back in 1999 in a motorcycle accident. And the command module pilot, Dick Gordon, has had some health problems, but is alive and kicking.