The Moon: Blithe Spirits in Space

Unlike the relatively taciturn astronauts of Apollo 11, the Apollo 12 crew members are lighthearted, talkative men, as willing to banter as debate trajectories. The all-Navy crew:

Charles (“Pete”) Conrad Jr., 39, commander U.S.N., Apollo 12’s skipper, is the son of a Philadelphia investment banker and a graduate of Princeton University who displays no trace of Main Line reserve. He is an inveterate joke teller, likes to whistle through the gap between his front teeth and listens for hours to country-and-Western music. At 5 ft. 64 in. he is the second shortest of the astronauts. A pilot since the age of 14, he is still fascinated with flying, particularly acrobatics (he was stunting in a jet over Florida only two days before the launch). In 1966, he commanded a three-day Gemini flight that soared to a then record altitude of 850 miles. Totally immersed in the space program, he feels no envy of the astronauts who have quit for more lucrative callings. “I don’t want to be president of a company or run for politics or be an engineering manager,” he says. Conrad is married and the father of four boys.

Richard F. Gordon Jr., 40, commander U.S.N., is an old buddy of Conrad’s and only slightly less of an extravert. Born in Seattle, he was one of six children of a Roman Catholic family. As a boy, he thought of entering the priesthood. Later, at the University of Washington, he majored in chemistry, toyed with the idea of becoming a professional baseball player, and finally decided to become a dentist. Then came the Korean War, and he signed up as a naval aviator. He was hooked on flying for good. Intensely competitive, he does not relish the idea of remaining behind in the command module while his two crew mates step on the surface of the moon but seems to have cheerfully resigned himself to his assignment (”My responsibility is second only to Pete’s”). He and his wife have more children than any other astronaut family: four boys and two girls.

Alan L. Bean, 37, lieutenant commander U.S.N., a space rookie, is the most serious of the Apollo 12 astronauts. A devout Methodist, he carried a church banner covered with such Christian symbols as a fish and chalice aboard Yankee Clipper. At the University of Texas, which he attended on a Navy scholarship, Texas-born Bean made the wrestling and gymnastic teams and met his wife Sue, a college tumbler. Like most of the astronauts, he likes to exercise (his favorite sport: surfing in the Gulf of Mexico). Calm, self-possessed and straightforward, he trained patiently for six years for his first space flight. He and his wife have two children.