Sometimes I see an item and debate whether or not I should buy it. This is one of those items. I thought it over for a few weeks but then decided to take a chance on it and boy am I glad I did. This is one of my surprisingly pleasant little gems! This item belonged to, and was notated by, NASA Flight Controller John Cooper. It is a very cool piece of manned space program history!
FRONT COVER
COOPER MADE HANDWRITTEN PENCIL NOTATIONS
ON THE BELOW PAGES WHILE MONITORING THE
ASTRONAUTS AS PART OF HIS RESPONSIBILITIES AS A
FLIGHT CONTROLLER FOR THE APOLLO 12 MISSION
FLIGHT DIRECTORS' MISSION LOG
PAGE 1
'LAUNCHED APOLLO 12 CONRAD GORDON & BEAN
SOME STATIC ELECTRICITY DISCHARGE OR HIT BY LIGHTNING DURING LIFT-OFF.
THIS ACTIVATED MANY LIGHTS AND ALARMS.
NO APPARENT PROBLEMS.'
FLIGHT DIRECTORS' MISSION LOG
PAGE 4
LM 'LOCATION IS ABOUT 25 FT. IN FRONT OF THE
SURVEYOR III CRATER. CONRAD CAN SEE THE
SURVEYOR III ABOUT 600' AWAY.'
FLIGHT DIRECTORS' MISSION LOG
PAGE 5
'SHADOW OF LM NOW [APPROXIMATELY] 110' PER PLOT.'
FLIGHT DIRECTORS' MISSION LOG
PAGE 7
'MANNED PLOT POSITION AND REVIEWED THE
PROPOSED TRAVERSE... (SEE LSE 7-6G LM -> ALSEP TO
V SIDE -> HEAD TO ROLL RX -> BENCH
-> SHARP TR CP GAC-> HALO C,P-> SV III
-> BLOCK -> LM)'.
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT COOPER NOTATED ON THE
APOLLO 12 LUNAR SURFACE EXPLORATION MAP
LSE 7-6G AS SEEN BELOW THIS PAGE
LUNAR SURFACE EXPLORATION MAP 7-6G
INSERTED INTO THE HANDBOOK
(INSET BOLD NOTATIONS ADDED BY ME)
Cooper penciled in this diagram as it pertained to the Apollo 12 EVA activity. Note the location of the LM in relation to the SURVEYOR III Probe. As part of their EVA activities Apollo 12 Astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean were to retrieve portions of the Surveyor III spacecraft, which had soft-landed on the moon April 20, 1967, a short distance from the selected landing site of Apollo 12.
CONRAD LOOKING OVER SURVEYOR III WITH LM IN BACKGROUND
FLIGHT DIRECTORS' MISSION LOG
PAGE 8
'DEPARTED HALO CRATER FOR SURVEYOR III. WHAT IS SO OUTSTANDING ABOUT THIS WHOLE MISSION IS THE CALMNESS WITH WHICH EVERYONE IS TAKING THE FACT THAT WE LANDED JUST ALONGSIDE THE SURVEYOR III S/C. I THINK IT'S GREAT AND FOR THE CREW IT MUST BE A WONDERFUL SIGHT- SOMETHING FAMILIAR IN A LONESOME, HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT.'
FLIGHT DIRECTORS' LOG
PAGE 9
'BEGAN SURVEYOR III ACTIVITIES. PHOTOS + SPLS. CREW REPORTS COLOR OF S/C IS BROWN. EXPO SAYS IT STARTED OUT WHITE.' ' SURVEYOR TV CAMERA COLLECTED AND BAGGED. THEY ARE GOING TO BRING SCOOP BACK ALSO. IT STILL HAS DIRT IN IT... THE CUTTING TOOL WAS DISCARDED THIS SITE (SVIII)
WILL NOW BE QUITE A SIGHT FOR AN ALIEN BEING TO SEE. THE LM DESCENT STAGE AND A SCAVENGED SURVEYOR.'
Amazing observations from a first person perspective!!