A resolution celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 12 Moon landing.

III 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 441 Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 12 Moon landing. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 21, 2019 Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Ms. WARREN, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. WARNER, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. CAPITO, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. MORAN, Mr. JONES, Mr. GARDNER, Mrs. SHA- HEEN, Mr. ISAKSON, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. BROWN, Ms. SINEMA, and Ms. CANTWELL) submitted the following reso- lution; which was considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 12 Moon landing. Whereas, on May 25, 1961, before a joint session of Con- gress, President John F. Kennedy— (1) declared, ‘‘Now it is time to take longer strides—time for a great new American enterprise—time for this Nation to take a clearly leading role in space achievement, which in many ways may hold the key to our future on Earth.’’; and (2) with his words, set the goal of sending astro- nauts to the Moon and returning them safely to the Earth; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR441.ATS SR441 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •SRES 441 ATS Whereas the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (referred to in this preamble as ‘‘NASA’’) mobilized and established the Apollo space program to meet the goal set by President Kennedy; Whereas the Apollo space program built on the achievements of the prior space programs of NASA, including the Mer- cury and Gemini missions; Whereas the successful Moon landing honored the tragic sac- rifice of every astronaut whose life had previously been lost in the service of United States spaceflight research, including— (1) Roger B. Chaffee, Virgil ‘‘Gus’’ I. Grissom, and Edward H. White II, the astronauts who lost their lives during the pre-flight test for Apollo 1; and (2) Theodore C. Freeman, Charles A. Bassett II, El- liot See, Jr., Robert H. Lawrence, Jr., Michael J. Adams, and Clifton C. Williams, Jr.; Whereas the crew of the Apollo 12 mission consisted of— (1) Charles ‘‘Pete’’ Conrad, Jr., Mission Com- mander; (2) Alan Bean, Lunar Module Pilot; and (3) Richard F. Gordon, Command Module Pilot; Whereas the entire Apollo 12 crew consisted of individuals who had served in the Navy; Whereas the official insignia of the mission was the clipper ship, which increased the use of the seas by the United States, just as the Apollo program increased the use of space-based knowledge and exploration; Whereas David R. Scott, Alfred M. Worden, and James B. Irwin stood ready to support or stand in for the Apollo 12 crew; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR441.ATS SR441 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •SRES 441 ATS Whereas, on November 14, 1969, the Apollo 12 crew launched from the John F. Kennedy Space Center aboard a Saturn V rocket; Whereas, on November 19, 1969, the Intrepid Lunar Module landed on the surface of the Moon as the second-ever crewed Moon mission of the United States; Whereas Apollo 12 carried the second Apollo crew to the moon to build on the work of the first crew from Apollo 11; Whereas the crew of Apollo 12 conducted an orbital maneu- ver to land in the Western Hemisphere of the Moon to recover portions of a previous lander that had been on the surface of the Moon for 2 years to study the effects of extended exposure to the surface of the Moon; Whereas the crew of Apollo 12 planted the flag of the United States in lunar soil, and images of the lunar surface indi- cate that the Apollo 12 flag is still standing; Whereas the Intrepid carried flags from 136 nations, the United Nations, and the 50 States and the territories of the United States, representing the international coordi- nation and collaboration of space exploration and the sci- entific intent of the Apollo missions; Whereas the Apollo 12 crew collected lunar samples and con- ducted experiments to gain a better understanding of the composition of the Moon and conditions on its surface; Whereas Apollo 12 deployed the Apollo Lunar Surface Ex- periments Package, a set of instruments left on the sur- face of the Moon to gather data; Whereas the success of the Apollo 12 Moon landing was a re- sult of the skill, dedication, and collective effort of tens VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR441.ATS SR441 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •SRES 441 ATS of thousands of workers, scientists, engineers, and con- tractors of the United States; Whereas the Apollo 12 mission further demonstrated the focus and capability of the scientific community of the United States and cemented the United States as the world leader in space exploration; Whereas, 50 years later, the Apollo 12 Moon landing con- tinues to inspire national and international scientific ef- forts in space, medicine, and other fields; and Whereas the knowledge and experience gained from the Apol- lo space program continues to inform missions to Mars, the far reaches of the solar system, and beyond: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Apol- 2 lo 12 Moon landing; 3 (2) honors the bravery and skill of Charles 4 ‘‘Pete’’ Conrad, Jr., Alan Bean, and Richard F. 5 Gordon, the crew of Apollo 12; 6 (3) commends the efforts of all of the individ- 7 uals of the United States who contributed to the 8 achievement of the Apollo 12 Moon landing, exem- 9 plifying a cooperative effort on a national scale that 10 continues to inspire scientific progress; and 11 (4) supports the continued leadership of the 12 United States in the exploration and use of space 13 through human spaceflight. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR441.ATS SR441 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS