302. [Apollo 12] BLUE GLOW AROUND ALAN BEAN STRIDING ACROSS THE OCEAN OF STORMS Pete Conrad, 14-24 November 1969, EVA 1 Printed 1969. Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS12-46-6807]. With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse, numbered "NASA AS12-46-6807" in red in the top margin (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas). 20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.) Historical context One of the rarest Apollo images—an astronaut in motion on the Moon. This superb photograph, taken by Pete Conrad as part of a panoramic sequence at the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) site, captures Alan Bean mid-stride, kicking up lunar dust as he carries a package of scientific instruments. Using a "barbell" carry technique, Bean transports the equipment to its deployment site, approximately 500–600 feet from the Intrepid Lunar Module. In the background, the LM, the American flag, and the S-band antenna stand as markers of Apollo 12's presence on the Moon. The faint blue halo around Bean is due to a dust smudge on the camera lens. Alan Bean on the challenge of moving across the Moon: "Running around is a lot of fun, but you're usually watching exactly where you land, because you're going to land in a hole one time, and the next time you're going to land on a little mound, and you don't want to land on that rock, you'll twist your ankle. So, you're constantly not looking up as much as you're watching where your feet hit." —Alan Bean (Chaikin, Voices, p. 73) From the mission transcript when the photograph was taken: 116:57:22 Conrad: We couldn't ask for a better spot to put this ALSEP down. 116:57:33 Bean: No. This is nice. Hey, (there are a) lot more rocks up here (than there are around the LM). 116:57:42 Conrad: (To Houston) Listen, there...We could play geologist for two days and never get any further than we are right now. Seeing all different kinds of things. 116:57:51 Bean: Hey, here's a different one. 116:57:52 Conrad: Yeah. It's really neat. Better than any of the geology field trips. Look at that thing. (Laughs) I'm getting a quick pan of the area here to tie down the ALSEP deployment (site). There you go. Literature TIME, 5 December 1969, p. 41