Apollo 14

Apollo 14
Alan Shepard and the American flag on the Moon, Apollo 14, February 1971 (photo by Edgar Mitchell)
Mission typeCrewed lunar landing (H)
OperatorNASA[1]
COSPAR ID
  • CSM: 1971-008A[2]
  • LM: 1971-008C[2]
SATCAT no.
Mission duration9 days, 1 minute, 58 seconds
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft
ManufacturerCSM: North American Rockwell
LM: Grumman
Launch mass102,084 pounds (46,305 kg)
Landing mass11,481 pounds (5,208 kg)
Crew
Crew size3
Members
Callsign
  • CSM: Kitty Hawk
  • LM: Antares
Start of mission
Launch dateJanuary 31, 1971, 21:03:02 (1971-01-31UTC21:03:02Z) UTC
RocketSaturn V SA-509
Launch siteKennedy LC-39A
End of mission
Recovered byUSS New Orleans
Landing dateFebruary 9, 1971, 21:05:00 (1971-02-09UTC21:06Z) UTC
Landing siteSouth Pacific Ocean
27°1′S 172°39′W / 27.017°S 172.650°W / -27.017; -172.650 (Apollo 14 splashdown)
Orbital parameters
Reference systemSelenocentric
Periselene altitude16.9 kilometers (9.1 nmi)
Aposelene altitude108.9 kilometers (58.8 nmi)
Period120 minutes
Lunar orbiter
Spacecraft componentCommand and service module
Orbital insertionFebruary 4, 1971, 06:59:42 UTC
Orbital departureFebruary 7, 1971, 01:39:04 UTC
Orbits34
Lunar lander
Spacecraft componentLunar Module
Landing dateFebruary 5, 1971, 09:18:11 UTC
Return launchFebruary 6, 1971, 18:48:42 UTC
Landing siteFra Mauro
3°38′43″S 17°28′17″W / 3.64530°S 17.47136°W / -3.64530; -17.47136
Sample mass42.80 kilograms (94.35 lb)
Surface EVAs2
EVA duration
  • Total: 9 hours, 22 minutes, 31 seconds
  • 1st: 4 hours, 47 minutes, 50 seconds
  • 2nd: 4 hours, 34 minutes, 41 seconds
Docking with LM
Docking dateFebruary 1, 1971, 01:57:58 UTC
Undocking dateFebruary 5, 1971, 04:50:43 UTC
Docking with LM ascent stage
Docking dateFebruary 6, 1971, 20:35:52 UTC
Undocking dateFebruary 6, 1971, 22:48:00 UTC

Stuart Roosa, Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell

Apollo 14 (January 31 – February 9, 1971) was the eighth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, the third to land on the Moon, and the first to land in the lunar highlands. It was the last of the "H missions", landings at specific sites of scientific interest on the Moon for two-day stays with two lunar extravehicular activities (EVAs or moonwalks).

The mission was originally scheduled for 1970, but was postponed because of the investigation following the failure of Apollo 13 to reach the Moon's surface, and the need for modifications to the spacecraft as a result. Commander Alan Shepard, Command Module Pilot Stuart Roosa, and Lunar Module Pilot Edgar Mitchell launched on their nine-day mission on Sunday, January 31, 1971, at 4:03:02 p.m. EST. En route to the lunar landing, the crew overcame malfunctions that might have resulted in a second consecutive aborted mission, and possibly, the premature end of the Apollo program.

Shepard and Mitchell made their lunar landing on February 5 in the Fra Mauro formation – originally the target of Apollo 13. During the two walks on the surface, they collected 94.35 pounds (42.80 kg) of Moon rocks and deployed several scientific experiments. To the dismay of some geologists, Shepard and Mitchell did not reach the rim of Cone crater as had been planned, though they came close. In Apollo 14's most famous event, Shepard hit two golf balls he had brought with him with a makeshift club.

While Shepard and Mitchell were on the surface, Roosa remained in lunar orbit aboard the Command and Service Module, performing scientific experiments and photographing the Moon, including the landing site of the future Apollo 16 mission. He took several hundred seeds on the mission, many of which were germinated on return, resulting in the so-called Moon trees, that were widely distributed in the following years. After liftoff from the lunar surface and a successful docking, the spacecraft was flown back to Earth where the three astronauts splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean on February 9.

  1. ^ Orloff, Richard W. (September 2004) [First published 2000]. "Table of Contents". Apollo by the Numbers: A Statistical Reference. NASA History Series. Washington, D.C.: NASA. ISBN 0-16-050631-X. LCCN 00061677. NASA SP-2000-4029. Archived from the original on September 6, 2007. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  2. ^ a b Orloff & Harland 2006, p. 396.
  3. ^ "Apollo 14 Command and Service Module (CSM)". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  4. ^ "Apollo 14 Lunar Module /ALSEP". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Retrieved November 20, 2019.