880 Encyclopedia of the Solar System
FIGURE 8 Astronaut Pete Conrad
examines Surveyor 3’s camera and
soil-sampler claw in 1969.the surface. Meanwhile, a photographic survey from the or-
biting CSM covered landing sites for future missions. (See-
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/ap11ann/introduction
.htm and nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar.apollo11info
.html.)
Apollo 12
An outstanding achievement in 1969 by theApollo 12
ground and flight crews is shown in Figure 8. Navigating to
a landing within 170 meters ofSurveyor 3, which had been
sitting on the Moon for 31 months, the LM crew walked over
to theSurveyor, cut off its camera and soil-sampler claw,
and returned them to Earth. The mission also brought back
a new harvest of rocks, soils, orbital and surface imagery,
and other science data. (See http://www.lpi.usra.edu/expmoon/
Apollo12/Apollo12.html.)
Apollo 13
When theApollo 13spacecraft was en route to the Moon in
1970, an oxygen tank in the service module exploded. The
dramatic rescue of the mission during the following week
is an epic tale of devotion and ingenuity by the ground and
flight crews. Moving out of the crippled CSM into the LM,
the crew used the LM descent engine to adjust their tra-
jectory to a circumlunar return to Earth. In the midst of
the emergency, they even managed to obtain some lunar
far-side photography. (See nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/
lunar/ap13acc.html.)Apollo 14
Continuing to expandApollo’s science capabilities, the
1971 Apollo 14 mission’s surface exploration included a
hand-drawn cart for carrying instruments. (See nssdc.gsfc
.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo14info.html.)Apollo 15, 16, and 17
During threeApollomissions in 1971 and 1972, human
lunar scientific exploration showed its real potential. With
augmented geological training of astronauts, plus one crew
member a professional geologist, plus a rover to carry
the LM crew on extended surface traverses, plus a suite
of remote sensing instruments on the CSM, these mis-
sions yielded a cornucopia of information that is described
in the Moon chapter. (See nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/
lunar/apollo17info.html.)Luna 16, 17, 20, 21, and 24
During theApolloyears the USSR had three lunar pro-
grams. The first was the robotic science program that began