NASA's Apollo Lunar Surface Journal (ALSJ)[1] records the details of each mission's time on the lunar surface as a timeline of the activities undertaken, the dialogue between the crew and Mission Control, and the relevant documentary records. Each photograph taken on the mission is catalogued there and each photographic sequence is also recorded. This page tabulates the Apollo 12 panoramas and, where appropriate, provides updated representations of the panoramas blended using more recent technologies than the originals.
Context
Having proven that the viability of landing on the Moon with Apollo 11, NASA extended the objectives of Apollo 12 in two key areas; executing a precision landing close to a known target, and extended surface EVA activities. The first was achieved when the Lunar Module, Intrepid, touched down within sight of Surveyor 3 that had landed on the Moon over 2 years previously. Whereas the Apollo 11 crew only had up to 150 minutes during their EVA, the Apollo 12 crew more than tripled that amount over two Moonwalks, which included a visit to the Surveyor craft.
In terms of photography, almost four-times as many photos were taken compared to its predecessor, with a similar proportion being used for panoramas. Unlike Apollo 11 though, a higher proportion of these were taken whilst on the surface rather than inside the LM before or after the EVAs.
The post-mission Preliminary Science Report[2] indicates that the crew took 23[3] panoramas whereas the ALSJ records 29 examples. In some cases, the complete, 360° panoramas were impacted by the low Sun angle and greater detail can be gained by omitting the down-Sun exposures from the panoramic sequences. The report also indicated that the original panoramas were analysed "with high precision, from measurements of glass-plate reproductions of the photographs", whereas modern panorama technologies have rendered such approaches as obsolete.
To assist in gaining bearings, the Lunar Module (LM) Intrepid, landed with its door and ladder leg (AKA "+Z strut") pointing about 25° north of due west. The Sun's elevation[4] was between 7.5° and 9.5° for EVA 1, and 15.8° and 17.8° for EVA 2.
Panoramas taken from inside the Lunar Module
Following the successful landing of Apollo 11, the emphasis on collecting contingency photos and samples was greatly reduced for Apollo 12. The flight plan simply states "Describe & Photograph Lunar Surface" as the first action after the immediate post-landing activities (Page 133 Apollo 12 Flight Plan[5]). Subsequently, there are 4 non-EVA panoramas taken from the LM on Apollo 12.
Alternate panorama included to illustrate how stitched panoramas may vary according to their original content. The Reference panorama (right) omits the 7027 image but results in poor blending between the component images in the centre. The Alternate includes 7027 which resolves the poor blend, but now includes the Landing Point Designator that was etched on the surface of the glass.
XII
111:58:43
Pre-EVA
LMP Window
Bean
48
Mono
7028
7033
N/A
ALSJ
XII
120:10:34
Post-EVA-1
CDR/LMP Windows
Conrad/Bean
46
Colour
6853
6867
N/A
ALSJ
This Reference Panorama has been manually arranged. Due to the source photos being taken from different locations (namely, the CDR and LMP windows) creating a full panorama requires a fair degree of image manipulation to render, hence the unblended representation of the result. The two following sub-panoramas show the individual views through the windows.
XII
120:10:34
Post-EVA-1
CDR Window
Conrad
46
Colour
6853
6859
ALSJ
N/A
Sub-panorama - Blended representation of image above.
XII
120:10:34
Post-EVA-1
LMP Window
Bean
46
Colour
6860
6867
ALSJ
N/A
Sub-panorama - Due to overlapping coverage and movement by the photographer, this image is made up of AS12-46-6863, 6865, 6866, and 6867 only.
XI
135:45:48
Post-EVA-2
CDR/LMP Windows
Conrad
48
Monochrome
7153
7171
N/A
ALSJ
This Reference Panorama has been manually arranged. Due to the source photos being taken from different locations (the CDR and LMP windows) creating a full panorama requires a fair degree of image manipulation to render, hence the unblended representation of the result. The two following sub-panoramas show the view through each of the windows.
XI
135:45:48
Post-EVA-2
CDR Window
Conrad
48
Monochrome
7153
7158
ALSJ
N/A
Sub-panorama - Blended representation of image above.
XI
135:45:48
Post-EVA-2
LMP Window
Bean
48
Monochrome
7159
7171
ALSJ
N/A
Sub-panorama using a subset of 7159-7171
EVA Panoramas
Almost every historical reference on Apollo 12 notes the congeniality of the crew towards each other. This comes through in the dialogue bewtween Pete Conrad and Al Bean during their EVAs (which was peppered with chuckles and giggles throughout), and also within the photos, with both taking "Tourist Shots" of the other at various points.
Despite Bean's issues with the TV camera, the standard of photography taken on the stills cameras
Table 12.2 EVA panoramas
Mission
Time (MET)
EVA #
Location
Astronaut
Magazine
Type
Start Frame
End Frame
Alternate Panorama
Source
Reference Panorama
Notes
XII
116:22:29
EVA 1
Pete's 12 O'clock LM Pan
Conrad
46
Colour
6730
6745
N/A
ALSJ
XII
116:24:47
EVA 1
Pete's 4 O'clock LM Pan
Conrad
46
Colour
6746
6763
N/A
ALSJ
XII
116:27:03
EVA 1
Pete's 8 O'clock LM Pan
Conrad
46
Colour
6764
6782
N/A
ALSJ
XII
116:27:03
EVA 1
Pete's 8 O'clock LM Pan
Conrad
46
Colour
6776
6781
N/A
LPI
Sub-panorama of "Pete's 8 O'clock LM Pan" above
XII
116:27:03
EVA 1
Al photographing the plus-Y footpad
Conrad
46
Colour
6777
6780
N/A
ALSJ
Sub-panorama of "Pete's 8 O'clock LM Pan" above - note, slightly wider than the LPI variant.
XII
116:57:52
EVA 1
Pete's ALSEP Site Pan
Conrad
46
Colour
6796
6811
N/A
ALSJ
Alternate showing Al Bean's attached shadow.
XII
118:18:09
EVA 1
Pete's First Pan at Middle Cresent Crater
Conrad
46
Colour
6836
6844
N/A
ALSJ
Later variant from HR sources.
XII
118:18:41
EVA 1
Pete's Second Pan at Middle Cresent Crater
Conrad
46
Colour
6845
6852
N/A
ALSJ
XII
118:28:21
EVA 1
Al's 12 O'Clock LM Pan
Bean
47
Colour
6941
6960
N/A
ALSJ
Right to Left sequence. Early variant - Lo Res images
XII
118:30:43
EVA 1
Al's 6 O'Clock LM Pan
Bean
47
Colour
6961
6981
N/A
ALSJ
Right to Left sequence. Early variant - Lo Res images
XII
118:33:10
EVA 1
Al's 4 O'Clock LM Pan
Bean
47
Colour
6982
7006
N/A
ALSJ
Right to left sequence. Hi-Res version
XII
118:33:10
EVA 1
Mini-pan - Pete at MESA
Bean
47
Colour
6987
6990
ALSJ
Sub-panorama of 'Al's 4 O'Clock LM Pan' above. Right to left sequence. Colour alternative also provided.
XII
118:33:10
EVA 1
Mini-pan - Pete at MESA
Bean
47
Colour
6984
6992
ALSJ
Sub-panorama of 'Al's 4 O'Clock LM Pan' above. Right to left sequence.
XII
118:33:10
EVA 1
Al's 4 O'Clock LM Pan
Bean
47
Colour
6982
7006
N/A
LPI
XII
132:12:17
EVA 2
Portrait of Head Crater
Conrad
49
Mono
7174
7186
N/A
ALSJ
This ALSJ-sourced panorama has been included as a counter-example - it isn't a panorama. Following the sequence from AS12-49-7174 to 7186 shows that the small rock formations in the centre of the left and right halves of the image are the same formation shot from different angles.
These tables catalogue the panoramic photos captured during the Apollo 12 mission. Those thumbnails in the "Reference Panorama" and "Notes" columns have been included from 'official' NASA resources such as ALSJ and LPI. Entries in the 'Panorama' column have been assembled using panorama-blending software using the High Resolution scans of the original frames held within the "Project Apollo Archive" on Flickr.[7] Where a Reference Panorama is pre-existing, that has been used in preference to creating a new variant, unless there is a additional value to be gained by regenerating it. Apart from some source image masking, all such new variants have been created using the minimum of processing, relying on the software package's inherent blending and optimisation capabilities - typically, such panoramas have been created within 3-5 minutes as they are intended to be 'representations' rather than 'definitive' examples.
All 4-digit image references relate to the last 4 digits of the image names. The full image names follow the format AS12-MM-IIII, where MM relates to the Magazine number and IIII is the identifier.
All tabular data, such as time and image identifiers, has been extracted from the ALSJ. The entries in the 'Location' column relate to the term used for the panorama as listed in the ALSJ's 'Assembled Panoramas' section