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
In the Shadow of the Moon (film) book by space historians Colin Burgess and Francis French, and both include many original interviews with Apollo lunar astronauts. The documentary offers a view of the Apollo program that is complementary to the book and is neither a source nor a tie-in. Ten former astronauts appear in "In the Shadow of the Moon". During the Apollo Program, twenty-four men reached the vicinity of the Moon. Of the twelve who actually set foot on the lunar surface, eight appear on camera (Neil Armstrong did not participate, while Pete Conrad, James Irwin and Alan Shepard had died). Two other astronauts who are