D. Scott; J. McDivitt; R. Schweickart [Apollo 9]

247 a
In Earth orbit, the crew tested the transposition and docking systems of the Lunar Module and Command Module. On a scheduled lunar landing mission later this year, a team of three astronauts and ground controllers will use what this crew and its support staff have learned in handling the systems of the two spacecrafts. The mission afforded the opportunity to take the first photographs of the Command Module spacecraft in space.

247 b
The Lunar Module Spider is flying upside down in relation to the Earth below, with its landing gear deployed and its surface sensors extending from the footpads.

NASA released a variant of this photograph (AS9-21-3199).

“The whole purpose of the mission was to qualify, in flight, that portion of the overall spacecraft system. Further, we wanted to show that the Lunar Module, in combination with the Command and Service Modules, could perform its assigned tasks in weightless flight. It wasn’t necessary to go to the Moon for this work, so the Apollo 9 mission took place in Earth orbit. The conditions were the same, insofar as those qualifying tests were concerned, and we had the further advantage of a more comfortable situation in case any problems developed,” said NASA associate administrator George Muller (NASA SP-350, p. 189).

247 c
The CSM and the LM were tested in Earth orbit conditions before going to the Moon on later missions. Strong but light, the Command Module would protect the crew during their launch and journey, and on their fiery return to Earth.