Apollo 12 Mission
Apollo 12 represented man's second opportunity to directly observe scientific phenomena on the lunar surface. Both the surface and orbital photography of the mission served not only to document man's second lunar landing and extravehicular activities of the astronauts, but also to identify scientifc areas and experiments for study in future missions. The photographic equipment and materials carried by Apollo 12 were designed specifically to (1) photograph targets of opportunity, i.e. scientifically interesting sites and potential Apollo landing sites as time and circumstances permitted; (2) obtain photographs of the lunar module and lunar surface activities after LM landing; (3) obtain multispectral, vertical, and oblique stereo strips of nearside and farside regions of scientific interest; (4) record mission operational activities; (5) obtain documentation for subsequent landing crew training purposes; and (6) obtain photographic information to document the geologic samples.
The Camera Equipment
The camera equipment carried by Apollo 12 consisted of one 70-millimeter Hasselblad EL camera, two Hasselblad data cameras, two 16-millimeter Maurer data acquisition cameras, one 35-millimeter lunar surface close-up stereoscopic camera, and a four-camera, multispectral S-158 experiment.
70-millimeter Hasselblad EL Camera. This camera, which was carried aboard the command module, featured a motor-drive mechanism, powered by two nickel-cadmium batteries that advanced the film and cocked the shutter whenever the camera was activated.
70-millimeter Hasselblad Data Cameras. The two electrically powered data cameras that were carried on the lunar module featured semiautomatic operation. They used a 60-millimeter Biogon lens exclusively. The operating sequence was initiated by squeezing a trigger mounted on the camera handle. A 1-centimeter reseau grid was set in front of the image plane to provide photogrammetric information in the analysis of the photography. The cameras were bracket-mounted on the front of the LM astronauts' EVA suits.
16-millimeter Maurer Data Acquisition Camera. Apollo 12 carried two Maurer data acquisition cameras (DAC), one in the command module and one in the lunar module. The cameras were used primarily to record engineering data and for continuous-sequence terrain photography. The CM camera had lenses of 50-, 10-, 18-, and 75-millimeter focal lengths; the LM camera was fitted with a 10-millimeter wide-angle lens. Accessories included a right-angled mirror, a power cable, a sextant adapter, a right-angled adapter, and a CM boresight window bracket.
The Maurer cameras weighed 2.8 pounds each, with a 130-foot film magazine attached. They had frame rates of 1, 6, and 12 fps automatic and 24 fps semiautomatic at all lens focal lengths, and shutter speeds of 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, and 1/1000 second, also at all lens focal lengths.
35-mm Lunar Surface Close-up Stereoscopic Camera. This camera, which was carried on the lunar module's Modular Equipment Storage Assembly (MESA), was designed for the highest possible resolution for a stereo pair area with a flash illumination and fixed distance. Photography was accomplished by holding the camera on a walking stick against the object to be photographed. The camera was powered by four nickel-cadmium batteries that operated the motor drive mechanism and an electronic flash strobe light.
Four-Camera, Lunar Multispectral S-158 Experiment. The lunar multispectral camera (LMC) experiment used four Hasselblad EL cameras. The objectives of the experiment were (1) to photograph lunar surface color variations for geologic mapping, (2) to correlate photographs with spectral reflectance of returned samples for compositon determination, (3) to photograph potential lunar landing sties, and (4) to make comparative studies of lunar reflectance variation and wavelengths. (A similar experiment was flown as the SO-65 Earth multispectral photography experiment on Apollo 9.)
The four cameras used had the same parameters, settings, and ranges as the Hasselblad EL camera w