Lunar Panoramic Photography - Apollo 12

NASA's Apollo Lunar Surface Journal (ALSJ) 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 indicates that the crew took 23 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 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 ). Subsequently, there are 4 non-EVA panoramas taken from the LM on Apollo 12.

EVA Panoramas
Almost every historical reference on Apollo 12 notes the congeniality of the crew towards each other. This comes through in the dialogue between 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 is particularly strikinig - especially in the monochrome images.