This image shows the remnants of not one, but two missions to the moon. Apollo 12 astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean demonstrated that a precision lunar landing with the Apollo system was possible, enabling all of the targeted landings that followed. Bean and Conrad collected rock samples and made field observations, which resulted in key discoveries about lunar geology. They also collected and returned components from the nearby U.S. Surveyor 3 spacecraft, which landed at the site almost two-and-a-half years previously, providing important information to engineers about how materials survive in the lunar environment.

Credit: NASA Goddard/Arizona State University

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NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.

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