Apollo 13

Read about Apollo 12

After the success of Apollo 12, the lunar landing missions continued with Apollo 13 next on the list.  Originally, Alan Shepherd was supposed to act as commander for this mission, but NASA didn't feel he was ready for the job, so they pushed him back one mission.  The crew that took his place was James Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert.  They had been preparing to man Apollo 14.  Originally, Ken Mattingly was supposed to be the Command Module Pilot, but he was grounded after being exposed to German measles.  The mission was meant to land on the moon and explore the Fro Mauro formation, named after an 80-km wide crater in it.

However, two days into the flight, Swigert stirred an oxygen tank as was standard procedure which was soon followed by a loud noise.  As they would soon learn, one of their two oxygen tanks exploded, and the command module were leaking oxygen.  The explosion also resulted in fuel cells 1 and 3 shutting down in three minutes, and fuel cell number 2 was slowly drained over the next 130 minutes.  To survive, the lunar module was used as a lifeboat, but the return flight would be dangerous, cold, and full of ingenious problem solving.

Because the Apollo 13 crew was so close to the moon (approximately 200,000 miles from Earth), they orbited the moon instead of turning around to save fuel and construct a plan.  However, landing on the moon was now out of the question,so that plan was aborted.  Honestly, what follows is nothing short of amazing, and I can't do the story the justice that it deserves.  So, I'm going to recommend seeing the movie if you haven't.  Also, I recommend reading A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaikin and watching the mini-series, From the Earth to the Moon.

Apollo 12: Pete Conrad and Al Bean

Read about Apollo 11

The moon landing was never meant to be a one time thing. Many missions were slotted for the moon, and each mission advanced in complexity. The Apollo 11 astronauts had only spent a seven hours exploring the lunar surface. In later missions, the science portion of the mission would be expanded. Chosen for Apollo 12 were Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr.; as Commander, with Al Bean as the Lunar Module Pilot, and Richard Gordon, Jr. as the Command Module Pilot. This would be Bean's first spaceflight, and he would be walking on the moon. Conrad was an old pro with this being his third flight. This would be Gordon's second flight into space.

When their Saturn V launched, it was raining outside. At 36 seconds after launch, the rocket was hit by lightning. Then, it was hit again at 52 seconds. Still, the Saturn V continued to fly correctly. However, it caused the shutdown of the fuel cells and put the Command/Service Module (CSM( entirely on batteries. The screen in front of the crew lit up with red. Thankfully, John Aaron remembered this type of failure from an earlier test when the power supply failed in the CSM Signal Conditioning Equipment (SCE). The SCE is responsible for converting raw signals from the instruments into standard voltages for the spacecraft instrument displays and telemetry encoders. He told the astronauts to try "SCE to aux" which switched the power supply for the SCE to a backup power supply. However, it was fairly obscure. Most of the flight controllers didn't know it nor did Conrad. Thankfully, Bean did. He flipped the switch, and the warning lights went away. Aaron and Bean's actions saved the mission being aborted.

After this, they were on their way to the moon. They followed the standard procedure and arrived at the moon on November 19, 1969. Conrad and Bean would conduct two EVAs lasting a total of 7 hours and 45 minutes. When Conrad stepped off the LEM onto the lunar surface, his first words were "Whoopie! That may have been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one for me!" Another notable incident was with the television they brought with them. Al Bean accidentally pointed directly at the sun which broke the SEC tube. The camera didn't work after this this. They also visited the Surveyor 3 probe and collected moon rocks before leaving the lunar surface and docking with Gordon in the Command Module.

The crew headed back to Earth where they splashed down on November 24. During splashdown, Bean was hit in the head by a camera and was knocked temporarily unconscious. He suffered a mild concussion from the incident, but the rest of the trip was safe for the astronauts. To learn more about the Apollo program and this mission, I recommend watching From the Earth to the Moon and reading A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaikin.

Read about Apollo 13

Apollo 11: A Man on the Moon

Read about Apollo 10

Seven months earlier, Apollo 8 orbited the moon. On July 16th, Apollo 11 blasted off for the moon. This time, two of the three astronauts would step onto the surface of the moon. These men would become legends, and their names would be remembered forever in history. The only astronaut whose name may not be famaliar is that of the Command Module Pilot, Michael Collins. The Commander was, of course, Neil Armstrong, and the Lunar Module Pilot was Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. The life story of both of these men is quite interesting, and it deserves some discussion.

Buzz attended West Point and graduated from there in 1951 with a degree in mechanical engineering. Then, he fought in the Korean War as a fighter pilot. After the war, Buzz earned his Doctor of Science in astronautics. Then, he was selected in the third class of astronauts. His Apollo 11 mission would be his second space mission.

Neil flew combat missions during the Korean War as well. After the war, he attended college at Purdue where he received a degree in aeronautical engineering. After this, he became a test pilot and had a few mishaps, but he always escaped without serious injury. In 1961, he became part of the New Nine, the second class of astronauts. His first space mission was Gemini 8 were the vehicle began to spin out of control. The astronauts were seconds away from blacking out when Armstrong saved the mission by switching to the Reentry Control System to gain control of the spacecraft. Then, he commanded Gemini 11 which was successfully completed. While training for Apollo 11, Armstrong flew a Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV) to help simulate landing in a real setting. The vehicle began banking and Armstong lost control. He then ejected, and, again, narrowly avoided disaster.


Once Apollo 11 took off for the moon, it had few problems. As they were landing, the LEM was ahead of its intended position by two seconds. Because Armstrong was worried about landing on unsafe terrain, he took manual control of the LEM and landed in a safe area in the crater known as the Sea of Tranquility on July 20th, 1969. The astronauts went for an EVA (extravehicular activity aka a walk) soon after landing. They only spent 2.5 hours on the surface. Then, they blasted off of the moon's surface and rendevoused with the Command Module. They went back to Earth, and the rest is history.

Read about Apollo 12

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