Pete's Parking Lot, 2009

Hallelujah! Being some of an Apollo 12 fangirl, I just got incredibly overexcited upon seeing this photograph on the NASA Twitter.

Pictured: The Ocean of Storms, as photographed by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Otherwise known as the landing site for Apollo 12.  Scientific equipment, including the ALSEP, is obvious, as is the descent stage of the lunar module Intrepid. (To my untrained eye, Intrepid is very obviously shining, unlike anything else on the lunar surface). Note also the tracks in the dust.

Apollo 12 was the second manned lunar landing. Commander Pete Conrad and Lunar Module Pilot Alan Bean descended onto the Ocean of Storms on November 19th 1969, while Command Module Pilot Dick Gordon orbited above in Yankee Clipper. Apollo 12 was the first pinpoint landing (Neil Armstrong on Apollo 11 overshot his landing site) and a huge step forward for lunar exploration.

For more on the LRO visit its official site.