We
all know the names Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin as the first as the
first and second people to step foot on the Moon when Apollo 11
landed in July of 1969. We know the name James
Lovell as the commander of Apollo 13 because of the movie about
the ill-fated mission. Unless you are over 50 or a big follower of
space exploration you probably could not name the the third and forth
people to put their feet on the surface of the Moon.
It
was 45 years ago when Pete Conrad made a pinpoint landing on the
surface of the Moon. He then climbed down the ladder to became the
third person to set foot on the lunar surface. Lunar Module pilot
Alan Bean followed Mr. Conrad to become the forth person .
“Whoopee,
man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one
for me," Pete Conrad exclaimed as he became the third person to
walk on the Moon
During
their 32 hours on the moon Mr. Conrad and Mr. Bean carried out three
mission objectives. The first was to complete a more extensive survey
of the lunar surface. The second was to set up ALSEP
(Apollo lunar surface experiments package) that would collect
seismic,
scientific and engineering data
over the next tow years. The third of the objectives was to not only
collect rocks and sail samples but part of the surveyor 3 probe that
landed on the Moon on April 20, 1967.
Once
the mission
was complete Mr. Conrad and Mr. Bean lifted of the lunar surface at
9:25 am (EST) on November 20, 1969. They then made a rendezvous with
Richard Gordon, who was orbiting the Moon in the command module,
where they docked at 12:58 pm (EST) that same day. The three
astronauts then started on the long voyage back to Earth where they
splashed down on November 24, 1969 at 3:58 pm (EST).
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