Painting, HOME SWEET HOME

Apollo 12—Pete Conrad Unpacks Stowed Equipment When astronauts emerged from their lunar module, they stepped down into a strange new world with just "the clothes on their backs"—their spacesuits and lifesupport systems. Their scientific equipment was stored in fold-down compartments on the sides of the lunar module. One of the first items they unpacked and set up was the large antenna, which sent voice and television communication to Earth. Artist's Note: "This painting emphasizes the size of the Lunar Module. As I looked at it on the Moon, it seemed much, much bigger than I remembered just four days previously back on the launch pad of Kennedy Space Center. It was a friendly home in a faraway world." (Robert E. Sweeney was a childhood friend of Alan Bean.)