Pete Conrad’s Apollo 12 Suit

Commander Charles “Pete” Conrad Jr. made history leading Apollo 12, the second mission to the Moon’s surface. His crew mates were Alan Bean and Richard Gordon.

The spacesuit Conrad wore on the Moon is on display at Space Center Houston inside Astronaut Gallery. This is one of only two spacesuits worn on the Moon on display outside the Smithsonian Institution. If you look closely, you can see the Moon dust. The first words spoken on the Moon by Neil Armstrong, the first man to step on the Moon were: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Conrad’s first words on the Moon were: “Whoopie! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that’s a long one for me.” During his extravehicular activity (EVA), or spacewalk, Conrad removed pieces for testing back on Earth from the Surveyor 3 probe, which had landed on the Moon years earlier. He collected rocks and set up equipment that took measurements of the Moon’s seismic activity, solar wind and magnetic field. On loan from the National Air and Space Museum.