Apollo 12 had two main purposes. The first was to demonstrate the ability of the astronauts to guide the lunar module to a precision landing by setting down close to the Surveyor 3 spacecraft, which had been placed on the Moon 30 months earlier. Pete Conrad and Alan Bean guided Intrepid to a landing only 600 feet from Surveyor 3! The other major goal of the mission was to obtain samples of debris launched out of the crater Copernicus, located a little over 300 km to the northeast.

To learn more, visit the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal's Apollo 12 page.

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