Buzz Aldrin

The first set of astronauts to land on the moon, in July 1969, were part of Apollo 11, led by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, who made headlines around the world. But what about the second group, who followed in the one small footstep made by Armstrong and made their own giant leap? The names of those astronauts may not trip off the tongue like their predecessors, but they too made history. On 19 November 1969, 52 years ago, the astronauts of Apollo 12 took their own moonwalk. The crew of Commander Charles “Pete” Conrad, lunar module pilot Alan L Bean and command module pilot Richard F Gordon launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 14 November 1969, just four months after Armstrong, Aldrin and Michael Collins.