mch

12 OUR ANCESTORS CAME FROM OUTER SPACE
the goal. While Collins flew in orbit around the moon in the
command module, Armstrong and Aldrin descended in the lunar
module, landing in the Sea of Tranquillity at 4:17 p.m., July 20,
1969, after a flight of 102 hours 45 minutes from the earth. After
6V2 hours of rest, Neil Armstrong opened the door of the module
and climbed down, the first man ever to walk on the moon.
The time was 10:55 p.m. EDT. Aldrin followed him after a few
minutes. The Americans were first on the moon! All returned to
earth safely on July 24.
Apollo 12 carried Charles Conrad, Jr., Richard F. Gordon, and
Alan L. Bean through thunderclouds right at the start, experiencing
an electrical discharge of short duration that did not hamper
the flight. The mission, lasting ten days, November 14-24, 1969,
took Conrad and Bean to the Sea of Storms, right next to
Surveyor
3, which had landed there two and a half years before.
Some of the more important parts from Surveyor 3 were brought
back in remarkably good condition.
Apollo 13, with James A. Lovell, Jr., Fred W. Haise, Jr., and
John L. Swigert, Jr., aboard, ran into trouble, seemingly
confirming the superstition tied to this number. The mission
which took place April 11-17, 1970, was already halfway to the
moon when one of the oxygen tanks exploded, knocking out
some instruments. The question was no longer how to land on
the moon but how to get back to earth as soon as possible. It was
decided that the best solution was to continue the flight to the
moon, make a loop around it, and come back straight for a
splashdown, all the time saving as much oxygen as possible. Everything
went as planned, and Apollo 13 returned safely without
further complications. The cause of the explosion was never determined,
although several official explanations were given.
Apollo 14, with Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Stuart A. Roosa, and
Edgar D. Mitchell aboard, went to the moon from January 31-
February 9, 1971, landing in the hills of Fra Mauro, using a cart
to transport the scientific instruments.
Apollo 15 took David R. Scott, Alfred M. Worden, and James
B. Irwin July 26-August 7, 1971, to the Appennine Mountains of
the moon. It carried a "lunar rover," an electric vehicle that
made it possible for Scott and Irwin to take several trips on the
moon's surface, covering nearly 20 miles. This moon "jeep" also