Apollo 12, the second US moon landing mission, was launched on November 14, 1969, from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Commander Charles "Pete" Conrad and Lunar Module Pilot Alan L. Bean performed one day and seven hours of lunar surface activity while Command Module Pilot Richard F. Gordon remained in lunar orbit.
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| Photo: Apollo 12 crew, Charles Conrad and Alan Bean, during a detailed rehearsal of the moon mission, October 1, 1969. |
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| Apollo 12 "Type 1" Insurance Cover (Bishop) from Alan Bean. Envelope measuring approximately 4 x 6 inches with a color crew emblem cachet and Navy wings. Kennedy Space Center postmark of November 14, 1969, the launch date of Apollo 12. Front signed by Charles Conrad, Richard Gordon and Alan Bean, handwritten on the back "INSURANCE COVER FROM MY COLLECTION ALAN BEAN APOLLO 12 LMP". - Heritage Auctions |
Shortly after being launched on a rainy day at Kennedy Space Center, Apollo 12 was twice struck by lightning, causing instrumentation problems but little damage. On November 19, Conrad and Bean achieved a precise landing at their expected location within walking distance of the Surveyor 3 robotic probe, which had landed on April 20, 1967. In making a pinpoint landing, they showed that NASA could plan future missions in the expectation that astronauts could land close to sites of scientific interest. Conrad and Bean carried the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package, a group of nuclear-powered scientific instruments, as well as the first color television camera taken by an Apollo mission to the lunar surface, but transmission was lost after Bean accidentally pointed the camera at the Sun and its sensor was destroyed. On the second of two moonwalks, they visited Surveyor 3 and removed parts for return to Earth. Lunar Module Intrepid lifted off from the Moon on November 20 and docked with the command module, which subsequently traveled back to Earth. The Apollo 12 mission ended on November 24 with a successful splashdown.
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| Photo: Alan Bean explaining the experiments to be carried out on the moon by the Apollo 12 crew at press conference, October 3, 1969. |
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Apollo 12 "Type 1" Insurance Cover (Bishop) from Charles Conrad's that was originally meant to be flown. Envelope measuring approximately 4 x 6 inches with a color crew emblem cachet and Navy wings. Kennedy Space Center postmark of November 14, 1969, the launch date of Apollo 12. Signed by Charles Conrad, Richard Gordon and Alan Bean. Mounted on a typed card signed by Charles Conrad. - Bonhams
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| Photo: Apollo 12 crew, Charles Conrad, Richard Gordon, Alan Bean at breakfast prior to suiting up for the Apollo 12 spaceflight on November 14, 1969. |
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| Apollo 12 official commemorative cover from NASA Manned Spacecraft Center Stamp Club, cancelled on launch day at Kennedy Space Center, November 14, 1969. Signed by Charles Conrad, Richard Gordon and Alan Bean. - RegencyStamps |
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| Apollo 12 launch cover. Top cover with official NASA cachet and a Kennedy Space Center hand cancel, November 14, 1969. Bottom cover by SpaceCraft, cancelled at Cape Canaveral |
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| Photo: The crew for the next Apollo 13 flight, Ken Mattingly, Jim Lovell and Fred Haise, watching the landing of Apollo 12 on the moon. |
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| Apollo 12 moon landing cover cancelled at Cape Canaveral on November 19, 1969. |
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| Photo: "THIS COMPOSITE picture shows where the Apollo 12 spacecraft will land on the moon Nov. 19 and where Apollo 11 landed in July. Much depends on the Apollo 12 crew's ability to put down on the moon within walking distance of a crater 636 feet wide since more rugged landing areas are planned for the subsequent eight moon mission. AP Wirephoto. November 4, 1969." [Note: there were only five Apollo missions after Apollo 12, not "eight" as stated in the photo caption]. |
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| Apollo 12 commemorative cover from The Manned Spaceflight Cover Society, cancelled on moon landing day November 19, 1969. Signed by Charles Conrad, Richard Gordon and Alan Bean. |
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| Photo: Apollo 12 landing site. |
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| Apollo 12 moon landing cover made from a section of the Apollo mission tracking chart cancelled at Houston, November 19, 1969. |
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| Photo: Apollo 12 astronaut walks on the moon. |
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| After raising a U.S. flag on the Moon, Conrad and Bean devoted much of the remainder of the first EVA to deploying the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP). The first EVA lasted 3 hours, 56 minutes and 3 seconds. |
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| Photo: Apollo 12 lunar module scheduled to land within 1,000 feet of Surveyor 3. Alan Bean inspecting the Surveyor 3 spacecraft that landed on the moon. |
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| Apollo 12 landed within 200 meters of Surveyor 3. |
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| Pete Conrad setting up equipment for the "ALSEP" package experiments to be left on the moon. |
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| Apollo 12 lunar module, Intrepid, lift-off from the moon at 9:25 a.m. on November 20, 1969, leaving its descent stage behind as planned. |
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| Intrepid went into orbit to rendevous with the command module, Yankee Clipper. |
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| Photo: Commander Charles Conrad in the command module and on the way back to earth after he and Alan Bean docked with command module. This photo was released to the press days after the Apollo 12 crew returned to earth. |
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| USS Hornet was the prime recovery ship for Apollo 12. Top: A USS Hornet postcard with a Beck rubber stamped cachet at the back, hand cancelled aboard the ship on November 24, 1969. Bottom: Ekas cover with rubber stamped cachet and a USS Hornet machine cancel. |
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| Apollo 12 splashed down at 2:58 p.m. (CST), November 24, 1969, near American Samoa. Above cover with USS Hornet machine cancel. |
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| Apollo 12 USS Hornet Captain's cover and typed letter from the Captain. Signed by Captain Carl J. Seiberlich. |
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| Apollo 12 NASA Recovery Team printed cachet cover. Signed by Charles Conrad, Richard Gordon and Alan Bean. |
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| Apollo 12 Recovery Team printed cachet cover with Beck rubber stamped cachet. |
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| Apollo 12 USS Hornet recovery ship cover with Beck rubber stamped cachet. The hand-painted cachet by artist Detlev Van Ravenswaay. |
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| Photo: Apollo 12 crew speaking to President Nixon while in their quarantine station aboard USS Hornet. |
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| Apollo 12 USS Hornet recovery ship cover with Beck rubber stamped cachet. Signed by Captain Carl J. Seiberlich, helo recovery pilot Cdr. Warren E. Aut, astronauts Richard Gordon, Charles Conrad and Alan Bean, NASA recovery team leader John C. Storesifer. |
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| Beck printed cachet cover B821 with USS Hornet machine cancel. Signed by helo recovery pilot Cdr. Warren E. Aut, Captain Carl J. Seiberlich. |
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| Apollo 12 USS Hornet recovery ship covers with a stick-on United States Navy (USN) emblem label. This hand cancel is a variation without the AM time slug. |
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| Apollo 12 USS Hornet recovery ship covers with a hand cancel without the AM
time slug. Beautiful hand-painted cachet by Alec Bartos, the Romanian Astrophilately Chairman, visual artist and stamp designer. |
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| Apollo 12 USS Hornet recovery ship cover with both USS Hornet machine and hand cancels. Signed by Captain Carl J. Seiberlich, Cdr. V. E. Sprudley. The hand cancel is a variation with the AM time slug above the year 1969. |
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| Unusual Beck rubber stamped cachet cover with Apollo 11 July 24, 1969 USS Hornet machine cancel and Apollo 12 November 24, 1969 USS Hornet hand cancel. |
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| Photo: Apollo 12 crew at Houston, Texas, while in their quarantine trailer, November 29, 1969. |
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Apollo 12 Flown crew-signed cover directly from the family collection of Apollo 12 Command Module Pilot Richard Gordon, signed and certified. The cover bears the mission insignia with Navy wings by Bishop, the 6¢ flag stamp cancelled at Houston on December 10, 1969 (the day the crew left quarantine). It is boldly signed in black felt tip: "Charles Conrad Jr", "Dick Gordon", and "Alan L Bean". Gordon has written "Flown To The Moon RG" at top left, and "4 of 87" at bottom left. He has certified on the verso: "This envelope was flown/ to the moon on Apollo 15/ Richard F. Gordon Jr". This flown cover comes with a printed card that match the cover with the text: "The Accompanying Cover/ is # 4 of 87/ Carried to the Moon." It is signed and dated: "Richard F. Gordon Jr/ 9-20-80". A description of the Apollo 12 mission is printed at the back of the card.
This is one of the little-known philatelic-related stories of the Apollo missions. Richard Gordon prepared eighty-seven mission insignia covers (identical to the Type I insurance covers) to take on the flight with him but they were left behind. As a personal favor to Apollo 15 back-up Commander Gordon, Jim Irwin volunteered to carry them to the moon on Apollo 15. Thus, they finally did make it to the moon and back and are a treasured rarity to the few lucky collectors who own one.
- Heritage Auctions. |
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| Photo: Apollo 12 crew and their wives visited former President and Mrs. Lyndon Johnson at their Texas ranges, January 14, 1970. |
(Reference from
Apollo 12)
