Editing Apollo 12 (section)

{{Short description|Second crewed Moon landing}}
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{{Use American English|date=January 2014}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2013}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name                  = Apollo 12
| image                 = Surveyor 3-Apollo 12.jpg
| image_caption         = Commander [[Pete Conrad]] studies the [[Surveyor 3]] spacecraft, which had landed two years previously; the [[Apollo Lunar Module]], ''Intrepid'', can be seen at top right.
| mission_type          = Crewed lunar landing ([[List of Apollo missions#Alphabetical mission types|H]])
| operator              = [[NASA]]
| COSPAR_ID             = {{Unbulleted list
  | CSM: 1969-099A{{sfn|Orloff & Harland 2006|p=331}}
  | LM: 1969-099C{{sfn|Orloff & Harland 2006|p=331}}
  }}
| SATCAT                = {{Unbulleted list
  | CSM: 4225{{sfn|Orloff & Harland 2006|p=573}}
  | LM: 4226{{sfn|Orloff & Harland 2006|p=573}}
  }}
| mission_duration      = 10&nbsp;days, 4&nbsp;hours, 36&nbsp;minutes, 24&nbsp;seconds{{sfn|Mission Report|pp=5-1–5-5}}

| spacecraft            = {{Unbulleted list
  | [[Apollo command and service module|Command and service module]] CSM-108
  | [[Apollo Lunar Module|Lunar Module]] LM-6
  }}
| manufacturer          = {{Unbulleted list
  | CSM: [[North American Rockwell]]
  | LM: [[Grumman]]
  }}
| launch_mass           = {{convert|110044|lb|kg|order=flip|abbr=on}}{{sfn|Orloff & Harland 2006|p=584}}
| landing_mass          = {{convert|11050|lb|kg|order=flip|abbr=on}}{{sfn|Mission Report|p=A-9}}

| launch_date           = {{start date text|November 14, 1969, 16:22:00|timezone=yes}}&nbsp;[[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]] (11:22&nbsp;am&nbsp;[[Eastern Standard Time|EST]])
| launch_rocket         = [[Saturn V]] SA-507
| launch_site           = [[Kennedy Space Center|Kennedy]], [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A|LC-39A]]

| landing_date          = {{end date text|November 24, 1969, 20:58:24|timezone=yes}}&nbsp;UTC (10:58:24&nbsp;am&nbsp;[[Hawaii–Aleutian Time Zone|HST]])
| landing_site          = South Pacific Ocean ({{Coord|15|46.6|S|165|9|W|type:event|name=Apollo 12 splashdown}})
| recovery_by           = {{USS|Hornet|CV-12|6}}

| orbit_epoch           =
| orbit_reference       = [[selenocentric orbit|Selenocentric]]
| orbit_periapsis       = {{convert|54.59|nmi|km|disp=out|abbr=on|1}} (54.59&nbsp;[[Nautical mile|nmi]]; {{convert|54.59|nmi|mi|disp=out|abbr=on|1}}){{sfn|Mission Report|pp=5-1–5-5}}
| orbit_apoapsis        = {{convert|66.10|nmi|km|disp=out|abbr=on|1}} (66.1&nbsp;nmi; {{convert|66.10|nmi|mi|disp=out|abbr=on|1}}){{sfn|Mission Report|pp=5-1–5-5}}
| orbit_inclination     =
| orbit_period          =
| apsis                 = selene
| insignia              = Apollo 12 insignia.png
| insignia_alt          = 
| crew_photo            = Apollo 12 crew.jpg
| crew_photo_caption    = Left to right: Conrad, Gordon, Bean
| crew_photo_alt        = Apollo 12 crew

|interplanetary         =
  {{Infobox spaceflight/IP
  | type                = orbiter
  | object              = [[Moon|Lunar]]
  | orbits              = 45
  | arrival_date        = November 18, 1969, 03:47:23&nbsp;UTC
  | departure_date      = November 21, 1969, 20:49:16&nbsp;UTC
  }}
  {{Infobox spaceflight/IP
  | type                = lander
  | object              = [[Moon|Lunar]]
  | component           = Lunar Module (LM)
  | arrival_date        = November 19, 1969, 06:54:35&nbsp;UTC
  | departure_date      = November 20, 1969, 14:25:47&nbsp;UTC
  | location            = [[Ocean of Storms]] {{Lunar coords and quad cat|3.01239|S|23.42157|W}}
  | sample_mass         = {{convert|34.35|kg|abbr=on}}
  | surface_EVAs        = 2
  | surface_EVA_time    = {{Unbulleted list
    | Total: 7&nbsp;hours, 45&nbsp;minutes, 18&nbsp;seconds
    | First: 3&nbsp;hours, 56&nbsp;minutes, 03&nbsp;seconds
    | Second: 3&nbsp;hours, 49&nbsp;minutes, 15&nbsp;seconds
    }}
  }}

| docking               =
  {{Infobox spaceflight/Dock
  | docking_target     = LM
  | docking_type       = dock
  | docking_date       = November 14, 1969, 19:48:53&nbsp;UTC{{sfn|Mission Report|pp=5-1–5-5}}
  | undocking_date     = November 19, 1969, 04:16:02&nbsp;UTC{{sfn|Mission Report|pp=5-1–5-5}}
  | time_docked        =
  }}
  {{Infobox spaceflight/Dock
  | docking_target     = LM ascent stage
  | docking_type       = dock
  | docking_date       = November 20, 1969, 17:58:20&nbsp;UTC{{sfn|Mission Report|pp=5-1–5-5}}
  | undocking_date     = November 20, 1969, 20:21:31&nbsp;UTC{{sfn|Mission Report|pp=5-1–5-5}}
  | time_docked        =
  }}

| crew_size             = 3
| crew_members          = {{Unbulleted list
  | [[Pete Conrad|Charles Conrad Jr.]]
  | [[Richard F. Gordon Jr.]]
  | [[Alan Bean|Alan L. Bean]]
  }}
| crew_callsign         = {{Unbulleted list
  |CSM: ''Yankee Clipper''
  |LM: ''Intrepid''
  }}

| previous_mission      = [[Apollo 11]]
| next_mission          = [[Apollo 13]]
| programme             = [[Apollo program]]
}}

'''Apollo 12''' (November 14–24, 1969) was the sixth crewed flight in the United States [[Apollo program]] and the second to land on the [[Moon]]. It was launched on November 14, 1969, by [[NASA]] from the [[Kennedy Space Center]] in [[Florida]]. Commander [[Pete Conrad|Charles "Pete" Conrad]] and [[Lunar Module Pilot]] [[Alan Bean|Alan L. Bean]] completed just over one day and seven hours of lunar surface activity while [[Command Module Pilot]] [[Richard F. Gordon Jr.|Richard F. Gordon]] remained in lunar orbit.

Apollo 12 would have attempted the first lunar landing had [[Apollo 11]] failed, but after the success of the earlier mission, Apollo 12 was postponed by two months, and other Apollo missions also put on a more relaxed schedule. More time was allotted for geologic training in preparation for Apollo 12 than for Apollo 11, Conrad and Bean making several geology field trips in preparation for their mission. Apollo 12's spacecraft and launch vehicle were almost identical to Apollo 11's. One addition was a set of hammocks, designed to provide Conrad and Bean with a more comfortable resting arrangement inside the Lunar Module during their stay on the Moon.

Shortly after being launched on a rainy day at Kennedy Space Center, Apollo 12 was twice struck by [[lightning]], causing instrumentation problems but little damage. The crew found that switching to the auxiliary power supply resolved the data relay problem, which helped save the mission. The outward journey to the Moon otherwise saw few problems. On November 19, Conrad and Bean achieved a precise landing at their expected location within walking distance of the [[Surveyor 3]] robotic probe, which had landed on April 20, 1967. In making a pinpoint landing, they showed that NASA could plan future missions in the expectation that astronauts could land close to sites of scientific interest. Conrad and Bean carried the [[Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package]], a group of nuclear-powered scientific instruments, as well as the first color television camera taken by an Apollo mission to the lunar surface, but transmission was lost after Bean accidentally pointed the camera at the Sun and its sensor was burned out. On the second of two moonwalks, they visited Surveyor 3 and [[Surveyor 3#Retrieved parts|removed parts]] for return to Earth.

Lunar Module ''Intrepid'' lifted off from the Moon on November 20 and docked with the command module, which subsequently traveled back to Earth. The Apollo 12 mission ended on November 24 with a [[Splashdown (spacecraft landing)|splashdown]].