| LAUNCH
DATE |
NAME |
DESTINATION |
COUNTRY |
MISSION DETAILS |
ADDITIONAL
INFO |
CURRENT STATUS |
| 17th February 1965 |
Ranger 8 |
Moon |
USA
 |
Like its predecessors, Ranger 6 and 7, Ranger 8
was equipped with 6 television cameras to send back images of the Moon
before crashing into its surface. For 23 minutes before hitting the Moon,
Ranger 8 sent back 7,137 images of the surface of the Moon. It impacted
the Moon on 20th February 1965. |
. |
Ranger 8 now lies inactive on the Moon in Mare
Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquillity) at 2.67° N, 24.65° E. |
| 18th March 1965 |
Voskhod 2 |
Earth |
USSR
 |
Two Soviet cosmonauts
(Pavel I. Belyayeu and Alexei A. Leonov) were taken into Earth orbit. While in orbit, Leonov left the space
craft (maybe Belyayeu wasn't very good company) and made the first space
walk. He remained attached to the spacecraft so that he wouldn't float
away. This first space walk lasted 12 minutes. |
First space walk |
Voskhod 2 returned to Earth after 1 day, 2 hours and 2
minutes. |
| 21st March 1965 |
Ranger 9 |
Moon |
USA
|
Like Ranger 6, 7 and 8, Ranger 9 was sent to the
Moon to send back images of its surface using 6 television cameras before
impacting it. For 19 minutes before impact, Ranger 9 sent back 5,814
images. |
Live television images of Ranger 9's descent and
impact were shown across America. |
Ranger 9 now lies inactive on the Moon in the
crater Alphonsus at coordinates 12.83° S, 357.63° E. |
| 9th May 1965 |
Luna 5
(Lunik 5) |
Moon |
USSR
|
Thought to be an attempt at a soft landing on
the Moon to enable tests to be carried out from the lunar surface. The
spacecraft went out of control on it way to the Moon and crashed into the
Moon on 12th May 1965. |
Second soviet craft to land
on the Moon. |
Luna 5 now lies inactive at coordinates 31°
south, 8° west. |
| 8th June 1965 |
Luna 6
(Lunik 6) |
Moon |
USSR
|
Another Soviet attempt at a soft landing on the
surface of the Moon, this space craft missed its target completely! The
space craft was sent on the wrong trajectory, the closest it got to the
Moon as it flew past it was 159,612 km. |
. |
Although the craft failed to land on the Moon,
all instruments on Luna 6 performed well. Communication with Earth was
maintained up to a distance of 600,000 km from the planet. Luna 6 is now
inactive in orbit around the Sun. |
| 18th July 1965 |
Zond 3 |
Moon |
USSR
|
Thought to be a twin mission with Zond 2 to go
to Mars, the launch window to send Zond 3 to the red planet was missed, so
it was sent to the Moon instead. It was a flyby mission and sent back high
quality images of the Moon. Its closest approach to the Moon was 9,200 km.
Communications with the craft were still possible at 31,500,000 km from
Earth, the same distance as Mars is from Earth, proving the craft's
capability for long-distance communication. |
First successful Zond mission. |
Zond 3 is now inactive in orbit around the Sun. |
| 4th October 1965 |
Luna 7
(Lunik 7) |
Moon |
USSR
|
Soviet attempt at a soft landing on the Moon. On
its approach to the Moon, control over the spacecraft's descent was lost
and the craft ending up crashing into the surface (although not far from
where it was actually meant to land). |
. |
Luna 7 lies inactive at 9° north, 49° west,
west of the Kepler crater. |
| 12th November 1965 |
Venera 2
(Venus 2) |
Venus |
USSR
|
Soviet flyby attempt
of Venus. Onboard systems failed so no communication to Earth was
possible. Venera 2 came within 24,000 km of Venus. |
. |
Now in orbit around the
Sun. |
| 16th November 1965 |
Venera 3
(Venus 3) |
Venus |
USSR
|
Soviet attempt to
land a spacecraft on Venus. On board systems failed before the space craft
reached its destination so no communication with Earth could be made,
although Venera 3 did successfully crash land on Venus on 1st March 1966. |
First manmade object
to land on another planet's surface. |
The inactive Venera 3 now rests on the surface of Venus, possibly around
coordinates -20º to 20º N, 60º to 80º E |
| 3rd December 1965 |
Luna 8
(Lunik 8) |
Moon |
USSR
|
Another Soviet attempt to land softly on the
Moon. Luna 8 very nearly made it but when trying to inflate the airbags to
cushion the landing, it became clear that something had pierced one of the
two airbags. This caused the craft to spin and to crash on the Moon's
surface on 6th December. |
. |
Luna 8 lies inactive at
9.8° N, 63.18° W, west of the Kepler crater. |
| 31st January 1966 |
Luna 9
(Lunik 9) |
Moon |
USSR
|
After many attempts, Luna 9 became the first craft to complete a soft landing on the
surface of the Moon. Luna 9 landed on 3rd February 1966 and transmitted
radio and visual signals back to Earth. The first images from the surface
of the Moon were received by Jodrell Bank Observatory in the United
Kingdom and published internationally. The landing was also significant in
that it proved that an object landing on the Moon wouldn't sink into the
lunar dust. |
First soft landing on the Moon. A major space
first for the Soviet Union in the Space Race with the United States. |
Last communication from Luna 9 was on 6th
February 1966. The craft now lies inactive at 7.13° N, 64.37° W in the
Ocean of Storms. |
| 31st March 1966 |
Luna 10
(Lunik 10) |
Moon |
USSR
|
Luna 10 became the first artificial satellite of
the Moon (or any other celestial body). It entered lunar orbit on 3rd
April 1966 and 3 hours later completed its first orbit. Luna 10 conducted
many experiments while in orbit and was also able to play music! It played
a song called the Internationale to a meeting of the Communist Party on
4th April. The version that people at the meeting heard was actually a
recording of a rehearsal from the previous day since the craft was unable
to play one of the notes for what should have been the live performance!
They were still led to believe it was a live performance from space! |
First artificial satellite of the Moon. |
After completing 460 orbits, communications
ended on 30th May 1966. It is likely that Luna 10 has dropped out of orbit at
some point although nobody is sure of when and where on the Moon it would
have landed. |
| 30th April 1966 |
Surveyor 1 |
Moon |
USA
|
First American attempt to complete a soft
landing on the surface of the Moon in preparation for later manned
landings on the Moon. Surveyor 1 successfully landed on the
Moon on 2nd June 1966 and sent back images of the landscape back to Earth. |
First American soft landing on the Moon. Unlike
the Soviets, the Americans succeeded on their first attempt. |
The final images from Surveyor 1 were sent back
to Earth on 14th July 1966. The craft now lies inactive at 2.45 S,
43.22 W |
| 10th August 1966 |
Lunar Orbiter 1 |
Moon |
USA
|
Before sending a man to the Moon, NASA had to
decide where to land him. Lunar Orbiter 1 was the first of a series of
missions to map the surface of the Moon and find ideal landing sites. It
would also obtain information about other hazards like radiation and
impacts from small meteorites. Lunar Orbiter 1 entered orbit around the
Moon on 14th August 1966 and sent 229 images of the Moon back to Earth
from 18th August to 29th August. It also observed that the Moon was
slightly pear-shaped and sent back the first images of Earth from the
distance of the Moon. No micrometeorites were detected to have hit the
space craft. |
Sent back the first images of Earth from the
distance of the Moon. |
Communications with Lunar Orbiter 1 continued up
to 20th October 1966 when it was dropped out of orbit and impacted the
Moon. In now lies inactive at 7º N, 161º E. |
| 24th August 1966 |
Luna 11
(Lunik 11) |
Moon |
USSR
|
Orbiter sent to the Moon to take images of the
surface of the Moon, fuelling rumours that the Soviet Union, like the USA,
were looking for landing sites for a manned lunar mission (Luna 11
launched only two weeks after America's Lunar Orbiter 1). The craft
entered orbit around the Moon, but its TV camera failed to send back any
useful images as it was pointed the wrong way! It did provide scientific
data and information about whether there were small meteorites in the
vicinity of the Moon which could cause a risk to any manned mission to the
Moon. |
. |
Communications with Luna 11 ended on 1st October
1966. By that time the craft had completed 277 orbits of the Moon. |
| 20th September 1966 |
Surveyor 2 |
Moon |
USA
|
Surveyor 2 was sent to the Moon to complete a
soft landing on the surface in preparation for later manned lunar
landings. A thruster failed to ignite for a mid-course correction on its
way to the Moon, causing the craft to start spinning. Scientists were
unable to restart the engine to stabilise the craft and it eventually
crashed into the Moon. |
. |
Surveyor 2 crashed into the Moon on 23rd
September 1966. It now lies inactive at 5º30' N 12º W. |
| 22nd October 1966 |
Luna 12
(Lunik 12) |
Moon |
USSR
|
Orbiter sent to the Moon to take photographs of
its surface. It entered lunar orbit on 25th October 1966 and started
sending back images from 27th October 1966. These first images were
released to Soviet newspapers on 29th October and made available to the
public. For some reason, no further images were published. |
. |
Contact with Luna 12 ended on 19th January 1967.
The craft's current location is unknown. |
| 6th November 1966 |
Lunar Orbiter 2 |
Moon |
USA
|
Orbiter sent to the Moon to image the surface
for potential landing sites and record data about radiation and
micrometeorite impacts. It successfully sent back 817 photographs of the
Moon and recorded three micrometeorite impacts. |
. |
Communications continued until the craft
impacted the Moon as scheduled on 11th October 1967. It now lies inactive
at 3.0º N, 119.1º E. |
| 21st December 1966 |
Luna 13
(Lunik 13) |
Moon |
USSR
|
Luna 13 was sent to the Moon to complete a soft
landing on its surface. It landed on 24th December 1966 and sent back 5
panoramic views of the lunar landscape. The craft also carried equipment
to measure the strength of the surface of the Moon to find out how easy it
would be to penetrate the surface. It also measured the temperature and
radiation levels at the Moon's surface to establish whether they would be
hazardous to humans. |
. |
Communications
ended on 28th December 1966 when
the batteries ran out. Luna 13 is now inactive at 18º52' N, 62º3' W in the Ocean of Storms. |
| 5th February 1967 |
Lunar Orbiter 3 |
Moon |
USA
|
Orbiter sent to analyse data for future manned
missions to the Moon. It took pictures of the Moon's surface to locate
potential landing sites, measured radiation levels, the presence of
micrometeorites around the Moon and other information about the Moon. It
sent back 626 images of the Moon including images of Surveyor 1's landing
site. |
Obtained the first image of a
previously-launched spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. |
Communications
continued with Lunar Orbiter 3
until 9th October when it was commanded to impact the Moon. It now lies
inactive at 14.3º N, 97.7º W. |
| 17th April 1967 |
Surveyor 3 |
Moon |
USA
|
Surveyor 3 completed a soft landing on the
surface of the Moon on 20th April 1967. As well as sending back over 6,000
images, it was also equipped with instruments to dig small trenches and
collect soil samples. The lander was switched off when night fell at
Surveyor's location on the Moon on 3rd May 1967. A lunar night lasts 14
days, and the craft was due to be switched back on when it started
receiving sunlight again but it could not be reactivated. Surveyor 3's
landing site was chosen for the Apollo 12 mission. Apollo 12 astronauts
landed close enough to be able to walk to Surveyor 3 and took parts of the
craft with them to return them to Earth to observe the effects of long
term exposure of manmade objects on the surface of the Moon. |
Bacteria
unintentially taken onboard Surveyor 3
survived for two and a half years on the craft's camera before being
returned to Earth by Apollo 12 astronauts. Surveyor
3 became the first spacecraft to be visited by humans at its landing site. |
Communications with Surveyor 3 ended when the
craft was switched off on 3rd May 1967 and could not be reactivated 14
days later. It now lies inactive at 2.94º S, 336.66º E. 10kg of
parts from the craft were brought back to Earth by Apollo 12 astronauts,
including the camera which is now on display at the Smithsonian Air and
Space Museum in Washington D.C. |
| 4th May 1967 |
Lunar Orbiter 4 |
Moon |
USA
|
Orbiter sent to take photographs of and obtain
data about the Moon while in lunar orbit in preparation for later manned
missions. It sent back 546 images of the Moon from 11th May to 26th May. |
. |
Communications ended when Lunar Orbiter 4
dropped out its orbit to impact the Moon on 31st October 1967. |
| 12th June 1967 |
Venera 4
(Venus 4) |
Venus |
USSR
|
Soviet mission
to land a space probe on Venus. The mission lasted longer than previous
missions, sending back information while descending through the planet's
clouds and atmosphere on 18th October 1967. However, it stopped
communicating when it was about 24 kilometres from the surface, most
likely due to the intense heat and pressure of Venus. |
First mission to
send back information about Venus from inside its atmosphere and clouds. |
The inactive Venera
4 probe now rests on the surface of Venus at coordinates latitude 19° N,
longitude 38° E. |
| 14th June 1967 |
Mariner 5 |
Venus |
USA
|
Completed a fly by
of Venus on 19th October 1967, confirming presence of Carbon Dioxide in
the planet's atmosphere. |
. |
Mariner 5 stopped
operating in November 1967, is now in orbit around the Sun. |
| 14th July 1967 |
Surveyor 4 |
Moon |
USA
|
Surveyor 4 was sent to the Moon to complete a
soft landing on its surface. After a completely successful trip to the
Moon, two and a half minutes before landing, communications were lost. The
craft may have exploded at that point, with its remnants hitting the Moon
on 17th July 1967. |
. |
Communication was lost, possibly due to an
explosion, 2.5 minutes before landing. Surveyor 4 now lies inactive at
0.45º N, -1.39 W. |
| 19th July 1967 |
Explorer 35 |
Moon |
USA
|
Explorer 35 was placed into an orbit of the Moon
to conduct experiments of interplanetary space from the distance of the
Moon. The craft's different instruments operated for varying lengths of
time until the whole craft was switched off in 1973. |
. |
Communications ended when the craft was switched
off on 24th June 1973 while still in lunar orbit. |
| 1st August 1967 |
Lunar Orbiter 5 |
Moon |
USA
|
Lunar Orbiter 5 was sent to the Moon to send
back images and data primarily in preparation for future manned missions
to the Moon. As the final Lunar Orbiter mission, it sent back 844 images
of the Moon. Over the five Lunar Orbiter missions, 99% of the Moon's
surface was mapped. |
. |
Communications ended when the craft was
commanded to impact the Moon on 31st January 1968 at 2.79º S, -83º W. |
| 8th September 1967 |
Surveyor 5 |
Moon |
USA
|
Lander sent to the Moon to obtain images and
conduct experiments at surface level. Over 19,000 images were sent back
with experiments confirming lunar surface soil was made of basaltic rock.
The craft was deactivated on three separate occasions when it entered darkness during
lunar night (which lasts 14 days). It was reactivated successfully each
time although image quality was poor after the first lunar night. |
Apollo 11 astronauts landed in walking distance
of Surveyor 5 but didn't visit the craft. |
The final transmission with Surveyor 5 took
place on 17th December 1967. Surveyor 5 now lies inactive at 1.41º N,
23.18º E. |
| 7th November 1967 |
Surveyor 6 |
Moon |
USA
|
Almost identical to Surveyor 5 launched two
months earlier, Surveyor 6 completed a soft landing on the Moon on 10th
November, sent back images (over 30,000) and conducted experiments. Unlike
Surveyor 5, it was also programmed to "hop". The thrust caused
the craft to lift 4 metres off the surface of the Moon and travelled 2.5
metres. After landing, the craft still functioned. |
First lift-off from the Moon. |
Last contact with Surveyor 6 was on 14th
December 1967. The craft now lies inactive at 0.49° N, 1.40° W in
Sinus Medii. |
| 7th January 1968 |
Surveyor 7 |
Moon |
USA
|
Final mission of the 7 Surveyor missions and the
fifth to land successfully on the Moon. Surveyor landed near the crater
Tycho on 10th January 1968 (Tycho is actually visible from Earth with the
naked eye). The craft sent back 21,091 images and conducted several
experiments on the Moon. The craft was switched off for 14 days from 26th
January during a lunar night, and reactivated on 12th February. Contact
ended on 20th February. |
. |
Contact with Surveyor 7 ended on 20th February
1968. The craft now lies inactive near the Tycho crater at 41.01° S,
348.59° E. |
| 7th April 1968 |
Luna 14
(Lunik 14) |
Moon |
USSR
|
Entered orbit around the Moon and provided
scientific information about the mass of the Moon (and how it interacts
with Earth), the Moon's gravity, and how radio communications could be
maintained if the craft was put into different positions. The craft also
recorded information about cosmic rays and particles from the Sun. |
Final flight of the second generation of the
Luna series of craft. |
No information is available about the end of the
mission and Luna 14's current location. |
| 14th September 1968 |
Zond 5 |
Moon |
USSR
|
Zond 5 completed a trip around the Moon and back
to Earth. Taken onboard were living matter including turtles, wine flies,
meal worms, plants, seeds and bacteria. The craft completed a flyby of the
Moon and took some high quality images before returning to Earth. It
splashed down on 21st September 1968. The turtles onboard were still
alive. They had lost about 10% of their body weight but showed no loss of
appetite. The success of this mission caused NASA to schedule Apollo 8 as
a manned mission to orbit the Moon as they thought that's what the Soviet
Union would do next (Apollo 8 was originally planned as an manned
Earth-orbital mission). |
First craft to fly to the Moon, around it and
back to Earth. First living beings to be taken around the Moon. |
Splashdown was at on 21st September 1968 in the
Indian Ocean. |
| 10th November 1968 |
Zond 6 |
Moon |
USSR
|
The follow-up mission to Zond 5, Zond 6 was also
sent to orbit the Moon and return to Earth. Like Zond 5, it also contained
a biological payload. The craft successfully orbited the Moon on 14th
November, but on its return to Earth, a fault cause the cabin to lose
pressure, killing all living matter onboard. The parachutes were also
deployed too early and the craft crashed in the Soviet Union. This failure
(although the Soviet Union still claimed it to be a successful mission)
meant that any manned Soviet flight would be delayed, giving the USA the
chance to send men to the Moon first. |
Had Zond 6 been successful, it is likely that a
Soviet manned launch to orbit the Moon would have taken place before the
end of the year. |
Zond 6 crashed in the Soviet Union on 16th
November 1968. |
| 21st December 1968 |
Apollo 8 |
Moon |
USA
|
First manned mission to orbit the Moon and a
major step in America's objective to land a man on the Moon by the end of
the decade. Astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders were
launched from Earth using a Saturn V rocket (the most powerful rocket in
existence at the time) and entered orbit around the Moon on 24th December. As the
craft went behind the Moon, communications were lost with Earth (as
expected) but successfully regained when Earth came back into view. During
their 20 hour orbit of the Moon, the astronauts read a passage from the
Bible and wished the people of Earth a happy Christmas! Apollo 8 returned
to Earth on 27th December. |
Astronauts on board Apollo 8 became the first
humans to orbit the Moon. |
Apollo 8 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on
27th December. The Apollo 8 command module, some personal items and Frank
Borman's spacesuit are now on display at the Chicago Museum of Science and
Industry. Jim Lovell's spacesuit is on display at NASA's Glenn Research
Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Jim Lovell later flew on Apollo 13. |
| 5th January 1969 |
Venera 5
(Venus 5) |
Venus |
USSR
|
Venera 5 had a
similar design to the earlier Venera 4. Like Venera 4, on 16th May 1969,
it sent back information about Venus' atmosphere as the probe descended
through the atmosphere, but stopped working before impacting the surface. |
. |
The inactive Venera
5 probe now rests on the surface of Venus at coordinates 3° S, 18°
E. |
| 10th January 1969 |
Venera 6
(Venus 6) |
Venus |
USSR
|
Almost identical to
Venera 5, the probe descending through Venus' clouds and atmosphere on
17th May 1969 and sent back information. It stopped transmitting before
reaching the planet's surface, most probably "crushed" by Venus'
atmospheric pressure. |
. |
The inactive Venera
6 now rests on the surface of Venus. Coordinates of landing location
is 5° S, 23° E. |
| 24th February 1969 |
Mariner 6 |
Mars |
USA
|
Twinned with Mariner 7, Mariner 6 was a flyby
mission of Mars. It successfully reached the planet and with Mariner 7
mapped 20% of the planet's surface, although missed its famous volcanoes
and canyon. It disappointingly revealed a cratered surface like the
Moon's. |
. |
Now inactive in orbit around the Sun. |
| 27th March 1969 |
Mariner 7 |
Mars |
USA
|
Twinned with Mariner 6. Mariner 7 suffered an
explosion during its mission but successfully sent back more information
than Mariner 6. Mariner 6 and 7's closest approaches to Mars were on 5th
August 1969 at a distance of 2130 miles. |
. |
Now inactive in orbit around the Sun. |
| 27th March 1969 |
Mars 1969A |
Mars |
USSR
|
Soviet orbiter
intended to film the surface of Mars and send the encoded images back to
Earth for television transmission. Exploded about seven minutes of launch.
Soviets had to watch something else on TV instead! |
This mission and
Mars 1969B were never officially announced by the Soviet government. |
Debris from the explosion was strewn over the Altai mountains |
| 2nd April 1969 |
Mars 1969B |
Mars |
USSR
|
Twin mission of Mars
1969A, failed to launch correctly (went sideways instead of up!) and
crashed 3km away from take off after about 41 seconds. |
. |
Launch Failure |
| 18th May 1969 |
Apollo 10 |
Moon |
USA
|
Second manned mission to orbit the Moon and a
"dress rehearsal" for a real Moon landing. Astronauts Thomas
Stafford, John Young and Eugene Cernan orbited the Moon on 22nd May. They
returned to Earth on 26th May 1969. |
The Lunar Module was detached from the Command
Module during this mission, taking humans to the closest point to the
Moon's surface to that date. |
Apollo 10 splashed down on 26th May 1969. The
Command Module is now on display in London's Science Museum. The Lunar
Module remains in space. Only Eugene Cernan went back to the Moon on a
later mission (Apollo 17), being the last person to this date to walk on
the Moon's surface. |
| 13th July 1969 |
Luna 15 |
Moon |
USSR
|
Having given up with their aim of taking a man
to the Moon, the Soviet Union sent the unmanned Luna 15 probe to the Moon.
NASA's Apollo 11 was due to launch 3 days later. The Soviets wanted to
steal some of Apollo 11's glory by sending Luna 15 to the Moon to collect
a sample of rock and soil and return in to Earth before the American
astronauts returned with samples that they had collected. On 21st July,
after astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had taken their first
steps on the Moon as part of their Apollo 11 mission, Luna 15 was about to
land on the Moon. At about 3 kilometres above the surface of the Moon,
transmissions stopped and Luna 15's mission ended. It is thought that the
craft crashed into the side of a mountain. |
First attempt to return soil from the Moon back
to Earth. |
Luna 15 crashed on 21st July 1969 in Mare
Crisium (the "sea of crisis") at coordinates 17° N, 60° E. |
| 16th July 1969 |
Apollo 11 |
Moon |
USA
|
Perhaps the most famous mission in the history
of space exploration, Apollo 11 sent the first humans to the surface of
the Moon. Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins set
off for the Moon on 16th July 1969. They entered orbit on 20th July and
Armstrong and Aldrin descended to the surface in the Lunar Module, landing
in the Sea of Tranquillity. Neil Armstrong took the first steps on the
Moon, images of which were shown live around Earth. Buzz Aldrin followed
shortly afterwards. After about two and a half hours walking on the Moon, and
a rest of seven hours in the Lunar Module, Armstrong and Aldrin returned
to the Command Module for the flight back to Earth. They splashed down on
24th July 1969. |
First manned lunar landing. |
Apollo 11 splashed down on 24th July 1969. The
Command Module (Columbia) is on display at the National Air and Space
Museum in Washington D.C. The Lunar Module (Eagle) was jettisoned and is
thought to have fell back to the surface of the Moon. 21.5 kg of samples
of the Lunar soil were brought to Earth. |
| 8th August 1969 |
Zond 7 |
Moon |
USSR
|
Zond 7 was an unmanned flyby mission of the
Moon. It was sent to take colour images of the Moon and Earth during its
journey. It flew past the Moon on 11th August and returned to Earth,
completing a soft landing on the surface, on 14th August 1969. |
First craft to fly to the Moon, return to Earth
and complete a soft-landing on Earth's surface (most other craft splashed
down in the sea to be recovered). |
Zond 7 returned to Earth on 14th August 1969,
landing south of Kustania in Kazakhstan. |
| 14th November 1969 |
Apollo 12 |
Moon |
USA
|
Second manned lunar landing. Astronauts Pete
Conrad, Alan Bean and Richard Gordon were sent to the Moon with Conrad and
Bean being the astronauts lucky enough to walk on the Moon. They landed
close enough to Surveyor 3, a space craft that had landed on the Moon over
two years earlier, in the Ocean of Storms. |
First mission to recover parts of a space craft
from the Moon from an earlier mission. |
Apollo 12 splashed down on 24th November 1969.
Its Command Module (Yankee Clipper) is on display at Virginia Air and
Space Center. |
