434 a
The first panoramic view is the second partial panorama (shot by Alan Bean to get a stereo effect) at Block Crater which is a small fresh crater inside Surveyor Crater near its rim. It shows how deeply shadowed the crater was.
The Surveyor III robot spacecraft is barely distinguishable in the left background. Block Crater was the last stop before returning to the LM.
The second panoramic view is the first panorama taken by Pete Conrad at Sharp Crater with the astronaut’s shadow in the foreground (as he did previously at Middle Crescent and Bench Craters, Conrad took two panoramas of the interior of Sharp Crater to get a stereo effect).
The third panoramic view is the first panorama taken at Block Crater by Alan Bean. It shows the LM Intrepid at the right with the astronaut’s shadow in the foreground.
134:39:50 Conrad: Now, wait a minute; where are you shooting, Al? I want you to shoot down in that (Block) crater right there.
134:39:55 Bean: Sorry, that’s what I...Okay, read you.
134:39:59 Conrad: Shoot way down into it; get a stereo of that thing with those big blocks down there.
134:40:03 Bean: Okey-doke. (Pause)
134:40:09 Bean: It’s kind of dark (meaning that the interior of Blocky Crater is in shadow), but I think we can get something good. Okay, move over here. This is probably the most spectacular crater we’ve come to, I think. (Pause)
134:40:23 Bean: The original crater (meaning Surveyor Crater) took it down to bedrock and then, I guess, more recently then, this one (meaning Block Crater) came in here and really banged it out. These blocks are a lot more sharp-cornered than any we’ve seen anywhere else. I guess this must be the most recent one we’ve been around.
434 b
Bean took this photograph as Conrad was about to collect a sample with his tongs at Block Crater. The dirt on his spacesuit is well visible, particularly below his knees, as well as his open checklist on his left wrist.
“So we got dirty. I mean, we really got dirty. You can see how dirty we are in the pictures,” said Pete Conrad (Chaikin, Voices, p.74)
134:41:06 Bean: Okay. We document (that is, take a “before” picture) and (collect) a couple of the big pieces. How’s that?
134:41:12 Conrad: Yeah. . .
134:41:16 Bean: Let me get a shot at it, Pete, cross-Sun.
134:41:19 Conrad: Okay. Get a stereopair right here. We don’t need the gnomon; I’ll put the...
134:41:22 Bean: Say, by the way, when I shot that crater down there, I had my distance set on 30 feet. I thought that would be right, but that’s the only one we haven’t shot on the numbers. (Pause) (Talking quietly to himself while taking the picture) Oh, man; too far back (to get proper focus), Bean. Okay.
434 c
Bean took this extremely rare photograph on the way back from Block Crater at the end of EVA-2.
Pete Conrad is already near the LM Intrepid at the MESA (Modular Equipment Stowage Assembly) packing up lunar samples and preparing for liftoff. The S-band antenna and the American flag are also visible.
134:42:28 Bean: Okay. You want me to get another sample bag?
134:42:30 Conrad: Nope. I want to start moving out. [...]
134:42:50 Conrad: Okay, Houston. Now, I’m going to go pack up the doc(umented) samples box. [...]
134:44:02 Bean: Hey, that (Surveyor parts) bag is bouncing a little bit too much back there, Pete.
134:44:06 Conrad: Huh?
134:44:08 Bean: Surveyor bag is bouncing. Well, it’s okay. It’s not hurting anything. [...]
134:45:02 Conrad: Okay, Houston. CDR (Commander) is back at the LM.
434 d
Conrad took this panoramic view of the shadow of the 23 feet lander as he was back in the LM after the last EVA which lasted 3 hours and 50 minutes and before liftoff from the Moon.
Even after a long stay on the lunar surface, the still “long shadow of the LM demonstrates how low the Sun was in the lunar sky. This was an intentional decision by Mission planners to allow the crew better visibility during the landing to see surface features such as craters and boulder fields due to the longer shadows as opposed to an overheat Sun that would cast almost no shadow” (Constantine, p.30).
In the left foreground is one of the LM’s Altitude Control Thruster Quads.
“They were small rockets arranged in banks of four, which provide thrust to maneuver the spacecraft in roll, pitch and yaw. They were not armed and active on the lunar surface, but they fired from time to time during the landing approach as Pete maneuvered to find a relatively
smooth landing spot. When they fired, the sound was transmitting through the frame of the LM; they made a sound like a shotgun was going off right outside my window,” commented Alan Bean (Constantine, p.31).
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