Pete Conrad the prime crew on the third following mission. If the swap of 8 and 9 had not occurred, Conrad might have commanded Apollo 11, the first mission to land on the Moon. On November 14, 1969, Apollo 12 was launched with Conrad as Commander, Dick Gordon as Command Module Pilot, and Alan Bean as Lunar Module Pilot. The launch was the most harrowing of the Apollo program, as a series of lightning strikes just after liftoff temporarily knocked out power and guidance in the Command Module. Five days later, after stepping onto the lunar surface, Conrad joked about his own
Mark Stoddart tables which featured a bronze sculpture of the Apollo Lunar Module as the base and a glass top inscribed with the words spoken by Neil Armstrong as he stepped onto the lunar surface in 1969. One of these tables is kept in the Scottish Parliament, others were purchased by astronomer Sir Patrick Moore and American astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Other high-profile clients include the jockey Frankie Dettori and Elton John. In 2014 he had retrieved a sculpture that he had loaned to a local hotel. The 99th piece of his "Walk on the Wildside" table was auctioned in 2007 and the