Storia di Apollo 12 , la seconda missione umana sulla Luna

Video from the channel link4universe about Apollo 12, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 35:55. Language: Italian. Video type: Documentary.

Third chapter of an Italian-language educational miniseries on the history of lunar exploration, devoted entirely to Apollo 12, the second crewed mission to land on the Moon. The author covers the scientific objectives, the crew and the development of the flight, from a troubled launch to splashdown, accompanied by numerous astronaut anecdotes.

The mission arrived a few months after Apollo 11. It had to confirm that success had not been a fluke and expand the surface science. Its objectives included installing an automated experiments station powered by a nuclear source (ALSEP), carrying out two spacewalks instead of one, debuting a color television camera, deliberately crashing the ascent stage to conduct seismic studies, and visiting the Surveyor 3 probe, which had reached the area two and a half years earlier, to recover parts and study how they had degraded. The chosen site was in the Ocean of Storms, in Mare Cognitum. The crew consisted of Charles "Pete" Conrad, a veteran of Gemini 5 and Gemini 11; Richard Gordon, command module pilot and also a veteran of Gemini 11; and Alan Bean, on his first spaceflight. All three came from the Navy and named their spacecraft Yankee Clipper and Intrepid.

The launch, on November 14, took place in bad weather. At 36.5 seconds, and again at 52, lightning struck the Saturn V. The rocket kept flying, but the spacecraft lost power and telemetry. From mission control, engineer John Aaron ordered the SCE (signal conditioning equipment) switched to auxiliary, which brought the data back. After checking the systems in Earth orbit, the spacecraft continued toward the Moon. The lunar module landed on November 19 just 183 meters from Surveyor 3, the most precise landing of the program according to the video. The color camera stopped working shortly after because it was accidentally pointed at the Sun. On the second spacewalk, the astronauts reached the probe and took parts, including its camera, which are now in museums. The impact of the ascent stage made the Moon vibrate for almost an hour. On splashdown, a camera came loose and hit Bean on the head. The video also recalls the $500 bet between Conrad and Oriana Fallaci over his first words on the Moon, and that Gordon was set to command the cancelled Apollo 18.