Conrad's and Bean's target was a clump of craters on the moon's Ocean of Storms -- informally dubbed the "Snowman." There, on the rim of an old, worn crater, sat the Surveyor 3 probe, which the astronauts would visit -- if they could land safely. Mostly, it depended on navigation. Landing on the moon was hard enough, but a pinpoint landing posed an even more formidable challenge.

Not long after midnight, Houston time, on November 19, 1969, Conrad and Bean stood side by side in the cabin of the lunar module Intrepid, preparing for the so-called "powered descent." As the craft's descent engine came to life, the men felt their feet press against the cabin floor. Intrepid slowed and sank nearer its pockmarked destination, and everything went just as it had in countless simulations. But would they be on target?

Seven thousand feet above the moon, Intrepid pitched forward for the final portion of the descent. Now Conrad could see where Intrepid was heading, and he could hardly believe his eyes: the Snowman was dead ahead. Mission Control's navigation had been perfect. Conrad almost shouted, "There it is! Son of a gun, right down the middle of the road!" (hear the conversation from Intrepid -- 200k)

On the right side of the cabin, Al Bean's job was to feed Conrad data on Intrepid's height and speed. Bean had no worries about his commander. Before the descent began Bean had looked over at Conrad -- there was that familiar face, with its hawklike nose, within the bubble helmet -- and he'd thought, "If anyone can pull this off, Pete can."

Beans only unease came when he stole a moment to look outside. Through his small, triangular window, he could see the moonscape rushing up at him. Suddenly the amazing reality of what he was doing became almost overwhelming. He could only stand a few seconds of this before he turned his attention back to the job.

Pete Conrad, meanwhile, took partial control of Intrepid from the on-board computer and searched for a safe spot to land. As he brought the craft within 200 feet of the surface, the landers descent rocket stirred up a storm of moon dust. The blowing dust veiled the surface and made it difficult for Conrad to judge Intrepids motion. Conrads eyes went back and forth between the instruments and the window as he struggled to bring the lander down the last 100 feet. Right now, Conrad needed everything he had learned in 20 years of flying. (hear the final moments of the landing -- 484k)

Suddenly, Bean called, "Contact light!" A blue light on the instrument panel signaled that a set of metal probes on Intrepids footpads had touched the moon. Conrad shut down the engine and Intrepid came to rest on the Ocean of Storms. Once more, there were human beings on the moon. Soon, they would leave the safety of their lander and explore it.