Here is a transcript of the NASA film "Pinpoint for Science" of Apollo 12. I've
tried to be as faithful as possible to the original, so please forgive me if
I've made any errors. Despite listening to the tape many times I could not
understand some sentences. For these sentences I used words that sound most like
what I heard, even though the sentence may not make sense. Anything in square 
brackets are my comments. Anything in round brackets is text appearing on the 
screen, in double quotes is voice from astronauts and mission control, and the 
rest is the narrator. I have not attempted to identify who the speakers are.

Steven S. Pietrobon, Small World Communications, 6 First Avenue
Payneham South SA 5070, Australia           fax +61 8 7117 1416
steven@sworld.com.au                  http://www.sworld.com.au/


(NASA seal)

April 19th, 1967, Surveyor 3 landed on the Moon in a crater of Oceanus
Procellarum, the Ocean of Storms. With Surveyor's electronic eye, we viewed the
Lunar surface. With its meachanical arm we dug a small shallow trench in the
Lunar soil. Now on November 14th, 1969, thirty one months after Surveyor's
landing, men were leaving Earth to land on the Ocean of Storms. Charles "Pete"
Conrad, Richard Gordon, Alan Bean. The crew of Apollo 12, the second manned 
landing on the face of the Moon. Their target, the site of Surveyor 3.

"Ignition sequence start, six, five, four, three, two, one, zero. All engines
running, commence lift-off."

Apollo 12 lifted off in the driving rain.

"Pete Conrad reports the yaw program is in." "Cleared the tower." "Tower clear."

(APOLLO 12: PINPOINT FOR SCIENCE)

"The pitch and roll program of this baby is really going."

Thirty seconds later, lightning struck the spacecraft.

"Yow, what happened here? We had everything in the world drop out." "I'm not
sure we got hit by lightning." "Fuel cell lights and AC bus light, fuel cell
disconnect, AC bus overload one and two, main bus A and B out."

"OK, we're all organised again Jack." "We've had a couple of cardiac arrests
down here too Pete." "Hey there, I'll tell you one thing, this is a first class
ride, Houston." "You've got a go orbit. You're looking good."

In space and on Earth, they checked out the systems, to be sure that the
lightning had caused no damage that would endanger the mission. The time for
commitment neared. The burn to send Apollo 12 to the Moon. Trans Lunar 
Injection, TLI.

"Apollo 12, Houston, the good word is you're go for TLI." "Hoopee doo, we're
ready." "We didn't expect anything else." "We didn't train for anything else
Pete." "You better believe it." "We have data and thrust is go. Burn looks 
good."

With engine cut-off Apollo 12 was on its way to the Moon. Now they turned around
to dock with the Lunar Module and pull it free of the now useless booster.

"We got a hard dock Houston. She looks good."

The next burn would place Apollo 12 on a new path to the Moon. Previous missions
had followed a trajectory that would allow them to loop around the Moon and with
no futher burns return to Earth. But Apollo 12, in order to land at the proper
site, with the proper lighting, would break out of the free return path. Should
a failure occur, a burn of the Service or Lunar Module engine would be needed to
get them home.

"Seven, six, five, main seq[uence] ninety nine go, two, one, ignition." "Apollo,
caught lock. OK, all involved now." "There you go." "Have water." "five" "main 
seq" "six, very good."

Now they settled down to the routine of the outward flight.

"We're trying all these things that we didn't have in Gemini, like toothpaste
and shaving and uh we're having a real ball up here." "Roger, all dressed up and
no place to go." "Oh, we're going some place. We can see it getting bigger and
bigger all the time."

Then, on November 17th, they prepared for orbit around the Moon.

"Our ahh motion to the left is not as apparant as our motion towards the Moon,
therefore we have the decided impression that we're going right into the centre
of that baby right now." "OK Houston, we're maneuvering to the burn attitude."
"Rog, we copy that 12." "We're beginning to ahh go into darkness at this time."
"Roger 12." "Matter of fact, we're there." "Apollo 12, Houston, you're go for
LOI." "Roger Houston, go for LOI. Burn check list is complete to minus six
minutes and we're holding at that point."

LOI, Lunar Orbit Insertion. The burn of the spacecraft rocket engine that would
place Apollo 12 into orbit around the Moon. With this burn occurring behind the
Moon there would be no communications with the spacecraft until it came over the
Lunar horizon. The Command Module Yankee Clipper, the Lunar Module, Intrepid.

"Apollo 12, Houston." "Hello Houston, Yankee Clipper with Intrepid in tow has
arrived on time." "I guess like everybody else that just arrived, all three of
us are plastered to the windows, looking."

The next day Pete Conrad and Alan Bean entered the Lunar Module, leaving Dick
Gordon in the Command Module. Now the Intrepid and the Yankee Clipper undocked
and separated, preparatory to Intrepid's descent and landing on the Moon.

"OK, here you go again." "Maybe." "Back off Dick." "There he goes." "Say Houston
the sim one and three today." "Really Pete."

As with the orbit insertion burn, the burn to begin descent was made behind the
Moon. Mission Control again contacted Intrepid as it came over the horizon. 

"Intrepid, Houston, how do you read?" "Hello Houston, this is Intrepid." "Roger,
we read you loud and clear." "We had a great DOI burn." "We'd just watched our
first Earth rise which was fantastic."

The Surveyor 3 target was located in the middle of five craters, arranged like
a snowman. The upper crater, called Head Crater, the body, called Surveyor
Crater. Surveyor 3 is located in this crater. The object, to land as close as
possible to Surveyor Crater. Then at 50,000 feet, Intrepid's engine fired and
began the landing sequence.

"OK, we're at 19,000 feet. I got some kind of horizon out there. I got some
craters too, but I don't know where I am yet." "OK." "Air and viper 254." "OK."
"I'm starting to cheat and look out there. I think I see my crater." "Hey baby,
I'm not sure." "Coming through seven, gonna have 360." "364 Pete. 364." "Pitch
over." "Pete there it is! There it is! Golly God! Right down the middle of the
road. Outstanding, 42 degrees Pete. Hey its starting right towards the end of
the crater, as you look out there!" "Forty two." "I can't believe it! Amazing!
Fantastic!" "42 degrees babe." "It just keeps on gliding in." "Coming down at 
about 19 feet a second. She's looking good." "Intrepid, Houston, go for 
landing." "...just over one." "Roger, go." "Roger." "40 degrees LBD Pete, 40
degrees." "Its just so fantastic, I can't believe it." "We're at 2000 feet."
"Boys on the ground doing OK, 1800 feet up, 39 degrees, 38 degrees, 36 degrees,
you're 1200 feet Pete. 1000 feet, coming down at 30. Looks good out there babe,
looks good. 32 degrees, you're at 800 feet. 33 degrees, 600 feet. We've got 
Surveyor Crater right where its supposed to be! You're beautiful! 240 coming
down at five. Hey you're really maneuvering around." "Yeah." "Come on down 
Pete." "OK." "Ten percent fuel." "200 feet, coming down at three. You can come
on down." "OK." "180 feet, nine percent, you're looking good. We're gonna get
some dust before long. 96 feet, coming down at six, slow down the decent rate.
82, 80 feet, coming down at four. You're looking good. 50 feet, coming down.
Watch for the dust. 40 coming down at two. You're looking good. Watch the dust.
Coming down at two Pete, you got plenty of gas, plenty of gas babe. Hang in
there." "30 seconds." "18 feet coming down at two. He's got it made. Come on in
there. 24 feet. Contact light." "Roger, copy contact." "PRO?" "Yeah, PRO." "OK."
"Engine arm off." "OK." "I cycled these valves, we got your engine command over-
ride off." "Yeah." "A good thing we leveled off high," "Yeah." "and came down
because I sure couldn't see what was underneath us once I err got into that
dust." "Its a nice place to land." "Look at those boulders out there on your
right Pete. Jeepers me."

As Conrad and Bean began preparations for their first trip of exploration, men
on Earth began their attempts to fix their exact landing site. They were aided
by Dick Gordon orbiting in Yankee Clipper.

"I have Intrepid. I have Intrepid." "Well done Clipper." "Hey, he's on over
Surveyor Crater. He's about err a full length Surveyor Crater diameter from
reference." "Roger." "Dick Gordon using the 28th power sextent for these
sightings." "Hey that looks like it may be. I see Surveyor. I see Surveyor."
"Maybe." "Roger Clipper. Good eyeball. Well done."

A major goal of Apollo 12 had been accomplished. For before man can engage in
meaningful Lunar exploration, they must be able to select a precise site, and
get there. But now it was time to exit the Intrepid and begin the exploration
and experiments. Conrad climbed out first.

"OK. OK I'm at the porch. Hey, I'll tell you what we're parked next to." "Yeah."
"We're about 25 feet from the Surveyor Crater." "That's good. That's where we
want it to be." "I got, I bet you when I get down to the bottom of the ladder
I can see Surveyor." "OK." "Down to the, the pad." "OK." "Whoopee! Man, that
may have been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one for me. Al, you'll
never believe it. Guess what I see sitting on the side of the crater? Yeah, its
Surveyor all right. The old Surveyor, yes sir." "Ha ha ha." "Does that look
neat? It can't be any further that 600 feet from here. How about that?"

Now Pete Conrad collected a preliminary geological sample.

"I have the decided impression I don't want to move too rapidly. But I can walk
quite swell. Seems a little weird I tell you. Don't think you're going to steam
around here quite as quick as you thought you were. Hey Al." "Yep." "Can work
out here all day." "Just take your time." "Dum, ta dum dum dum. Dummy dum dum
dum dum."

Now Al Bean left Intrepid to join Conrad on the surface of the Moon.

"Good shape." "OK. I'll pull the err hatch closed here." "OK. Don't lock it."
"Hey, if I'd had landed twenty feet behind where I landed, we'd had landed right
smack in that crater."

Inadvertantly the television camera was pointed directly at the Sun causing the
tube to burn out. The only unsuccessful aspect of the entire mission.

"Houston." "Pete, go ahead." "OK. Yeah we have the flag up. Like I said, I hope
everybody down there is as proud of it as we are to put it up." "That's covered
it Pete. We're proud of what you're doing."

They prepared an experiments package to be left on the Moon. An automated
scientific station called ALSEP that would send information to Earth for a year
powered by a nuclear electric generator.

"OK. And we're off to load the ALSEP. A hick, go." "Got to be able to move out
with this thing."

They moved to the site slected to set up the station.

"Hey there's another one of those mounds over there." "Where? Hey you're right.
What do you suppose they are?" "I don't know. It looks like a small volcano."

They put together the experiment station.

"How far do you estimate we are from the LM? 600 feet? 700 feet?" "At least."

ALSEP, an acronym for Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package. Piece by piece,
they assembled the station.

"OK. I got the ahh Solar Wind deployed here."

The Solar Wind experiment, to measure atomic particles thrown off by the Sun as
they strike the Moon. A device to measure the Moon's tenuous atmosphere. A
magnetometer to measure the Lunar magnetic field, which was later found to be
ten to twenty times stronger than many scientists had expected. A seisometer,
to measure physical properties of the crust and enterior, and a data station,
to collect the experimental measurements and transmit them to Earth. With ALSEP
deployed, Conrad and Bean began collecting geological samples.

"Look out. There's a beauty. Look at that." "Son of a gun, we gotta have that."

They drove a core tube into the surface to collect soil from various depths.

"OK I'm core drooping it right now." "Tail." "Order it a bit and count it. But
now its full length." "We show you err three hours and seven minutes into it,
into the EVA, and we'd like you back err to the LM to start the close out in ten
minutes. That's ahh three plus one seven." "It's a smoky to get back to that LM,
in a long way." "Hey Houston, we're approaching the ALSEP headed back to the 
LM." "Pete and Al, we're picking up ahh you're heavy footprints going by the
seisometer." "OK, I think we'd ought to dust each other off." "Yeah, man. We are
filthy." "OK, coming up the ladder." "Hey, you're shaking the whole bill."
"Sorry about that." 

"Yankee Clipper, Houston." "Hello Houston, Clipper here." "Clipper, you're sort 
of a forgotten man for a little while. We're all, all eyes are on you now. We're
with you."

As Dick Gordon circled the Moon, Pete Conrad and Al Bean rested for their next
expedition. Their total time on the Lunar surface had been just under four
hours. Twelve and a half hours later they went out again.

"Can't fit, looks long step." "OK, Houston." "Roger, copy Pete."

Before they began their geological expedition to the surrounding craters and to
Surveyor, they worked around the Lunar Module, getting ready the tools and 
containers they would need.

"Got the ahh parch bag on ahh Pete right now, Houston." "Roger, we copy that."
"Hey, I wonder what happened since yesterday?" "I think everybody learned to
locate."

As Bean readied the equipment, Conrad went out to the ALSEP station to check an
instrument, about which the Earth based scientists had shown some concern.

"I'll whip off to the ALSEP to check the site. I'll meet you at point one at
Head Crater." "Houston, Pete's on his way to the ALSEP."

After Conrad checked the ALSEP experiments they began the geological traverse,
during which they would cover about a mile and take samples from six craters.

"Hey, you get a big surprise when you look into this Head Crater Al. Its a heck
of a lot deeper than it looks, eh." "There you go, that, that's a good rock."
"Hey, look at the pits in it too. That, this is going to be a good rock 
Houston." "OK Houston, coming up on Bench Crater right now." "Boy, there's some
big fragments out here." "Get some pictures." "What a fantastic sight." "Al,
look at the bottom of that crater." "Hey hey, there's some good rock samples
right here. Come on." "Why don't we stop here and look at the chart a little
bit?" "Of course." "Man, does that LM look small back there." "Pete and Al, we
show you're 1200 feet from the LM." "OK." "You know what I feel like Al?" 
"What?" "You ever see those pictures of giraffes running in slow motion?" "To
copy?" "That's exactly what I feel like." "Hee hee hee. That's an exciting
feeling. I'm going to sleep tonight."

Then they arrived at Surveyor, their target. While the Surveyor activities were
a bonus, they were symbolic. Symbolic of the success of Apollo 12.

"And we're just going to move to the area." "Now that's it. See which way it
came in. See the way the skew pads dug in over there." "Dug up dirt. Its still
sitting there." "OK Houston, I err, I'm jiggling that, the Surveyor is firmly
planted here. That's no problem." "OK Al, we're ready to start getting a TV
camera." "OK." "All right, did you see that, that material disintegrate? Hey, 
that cuts easy. OK, two more tubes on that TV camera and that baby's ours."
"Done. There you go." "In the bag. In the bag. Yeah, I gotta zip it up." "Good
show." "Pete, now let me cut this scoop off." "Sure. You didn't think you're
gonna leave without a scoop did you?" "OK. Let's head for Block Crater."

So they left Surveyor, and after a stop at a crater called Block, they were back
at the Lunar Module. Collecting the Solar Wind experiment, stowing the rock 
boxes.

"Its really ridiculous. I got dust all over the rock boxes and I'm trying to
blow it off."

Bean re-entered the Lunar Module first. Conrad, using a transfer apparatus
similar to a clothes line reel sent the samples up to him. Then, Conrad too left
the Lunar surface.

"OK. Houston, ahh, if you can mark me off the Lunar surface." "Roger, we got 
that Pete. At ahh, three hours and fifty minutes into the EVA." "OK. Up the
ladder I come. Hi Ho. Hi Ho. Hi Ho."

But there was no time to rest. The Lunar Module had to be prepared for lift-off
from the Moon and rendezvous with Yankee Clipper.

"Looking good Pete." "Three, two, one, lift-off. And away we go." "The engine is
firing." "Going" [static] "we gotta neat thing babe." "We're on our way." "And
one minute going right twenty Pete." "OK." "Good jumping." "Everything looks
good Pete. Frankly..." "Sure does."

So they rose to their rendezvous. And from Dick Gordon in Yankee Clipper.

"Boy, you sure look strange down there amongst all the sand dunes." "All right.
About half a mile, ahh, 19 feet a second. Make it..." "You're looking better
all the time Yankee." "OK. I'm down to three feet a second." "Intrepid now at
station keeping ahh with the Yankee Clipper."

The two vehicles moved togther for docking.

"We've captured." "Capture." "OK. Dock gears are off." And you're home free,
horay."

Now Conrad and Bean rejoined Dick Gordon in the Command Module, bringing with
them the samples, experiments, and photographs to be returned to Earth. The
next step, jettison the Lunar Module. Then send it crashing into the Moon, to
help calibrate the seisometer left on the surface. This instrument was designed
to measure the intensity of meteor impacts, Moonquakes, landslides, and similar
phenomona.

"Guidance and Control also reports that, that the two spacecraft have ahh
separated." "Apollo 12, Houston. The LM is on its way down." "Roger, we'll
watch."

The men on Earth monitored the output of the seisometer. Waiting for impact.

"Countdown for LM impact. Three, two, one, mark. LM impact." (Dr. Maurice
Ewing, Columbia University) "As for the meaning of it, I'd rather not make an
interpretation right now, but ehh, it is as though one had struck a bell, say,
in it, in the bal, balcony of the church. A single blow, and found that the
reverbations from it continued for thirty minutes."

After fifty five minutes, the reverbations still had not faded completely.
Apollo 12 continued its orbits of the Moon, gathering photography for scientific
study, including the Fra Mauro area, the landing site for Apollo 13. And then
it was time to head back to Earth.

"Roger roger. Bye bue. See you on the other side." "Have fun."

The burn to send them home would take place behind the Moon. On Earth we waited.
Waited for Apollo 12 once more.

"Apollo 12, Houston." "Hello Houston, Apollo 12 crew home."

Shortly before re-entry, the crew of Apollo 12 watched the Earth move to blot
out the Sun.

"We're getting a spectacular view beneath us. We're using the err Sun filter,
the g and optics looking through it, and its unbelievable."

Then Apollo 12 hit the atmosphere of Earth at 25,000 miles an hour.

"Course right on the money." "Rog. We concur Pete."

But the log of Apollo 12 does not end with splashdown. It only begins.

"Man, have I got the grape fruit rock of all grape fruit rocks." "Hey, I'm
looking at a rock that has small crystals in it."

And on the Moon, an experimental station called ALSEP sends back its data. Each
experiment representing a milestone in our knowledge of the Moon.

(Dr. John Freeman, Rice University) "The Lunar Atmosphere in its site has been
turned on and err I'm happy to say is functioning perfectly." (Dr. Douglas Clay,
J.P.L.) "The Solar Wind Spectrometer has been functioning, of course, since
ALSEP has been turned on." (Dr. Gary Latham, Columbia University) "The seismic
experiment as, as been reported is functioning in all respects properly." (Dr.
Frank Press, M.I.T.) "I think it will represent a major discovery of, completely
unanticipated about the Moon." (Dr. Gary Latham, Columbia University) "We're
going to have to, to throw the book away, and ahh begin over again, which seems
to be the case for the Moon in general."

Apollo 12 was a milestone in manned extraterrestrial exploration. It achieved 
its pinpoint landing, as close as possible to its selected target marked by
Surveyor. It set a pace and a pattern of scientific exploration that future
missions will not only follow, but will go beyond.

(NASA seal)

(Produced for NATIONAL AERONAUICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION by A-V CORPORATION
Houston, Texas)