Apollo 12 moon landing turns 50

Sandwiched between the first moon landing and the disastrous Apollo 13 mission, Apollo 12 often gets overlooked. Humans set foot on the moon for the second time on Nov. 19, 1969, just months after the first mission. According to NASA, mission commander Charles “Pete” Conrad’s words as he left the lunar landing module were “Whoopee! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that’s a long one for me.”

What happened during Apollo 12? While Apollo 11 set out to prove a moon landing was possible, Apollo 12 had bigger goals. The mission included a pinpoint landing on the Ocean of Storms, more spacewalks outside the ship, and a longer stay on the lunar surface: 31½ hours.

Dig deeper: Read Jamie Dean’s reflections in WORLD magazine on the Apollo 11 mission just before its 50th anniversary in July.