Apollo 14: Facts About the 'Rookie' Crew & the Golf Ball Apollo 14: Facts About the 'Rookie' Crew & the Golf Ball By Elizabeth Howell, Space.com Contributor | September 5, 2012 05:24pm ET MORE The Apollo 14 crew: Stuart Roosa, Alan Shepard & Ed Mitchell. Credit: NASA Apollo 14 lifted off on Jan. 31, 1971, with high hopes following the near-disaster that was the previous mission. This fourth manned moon shot is most famous as the mission where an astronaut played golf, but there were other adventures the crew encountered along the way. They searched for evidence of an asteroid that carved a large crater in the moon, and fought glitches and false alarms as they made their way to the Fra Mauro highlands. Some at NASA good-naturedly referred to the Apollo 14 crew as "the three rookies." They had just a few minutes of accumulated space experience among them, Naval astronaut and commander Alan Shepard was the first American in space , making a 15-minute, 28-second suborbital hop in 1961.

NASA assigned him to the first Gemini mission, but Shepard developed symptoms of Meniere's disease , a disorder of the middle ear, and had to stop flying on doctor's orders. In 1968, Shepard underwent risky surgery to alleviate his symptoms; afterwards, he was successfully reassigned to flight status. Edgar Mitchell was one of the few astronauts at the time who had a doctorate. In the Navy, he not only flew planes but also gave advanced mathematics and navigational lessons to aviators who were astronaut candidates. After five years at NASA, Mitchell's knowledge of the lunar landing module got accolades from his peers, likely factoring in to the decision to put him on Apollo 14. Stuart Roosa , a former Air Force fighter pilot, was the command module pilot for Apollo 14. He served as CapCom for the Apollo 9 mission, impressing NASA with his ability to help the astronauts after crew member Rusty Schweickart fell ill. Roosa then became the first Apollo astronaut assigned to a flying crew without doing a backup assignment first.

The three men were initially supposed to fly on Apollo 13, but they were pushed back a mission to give everyone extra training, especially Shepard, who had just resumed active duty. A launch glitch Apollo 14 launched smoothly, aiming for the Fra Mauro highlands that Apollo 13 had hoped to reach. However, the astronauts ran into trouble as they were preparing to leave Earth orbit. One of their required tasks was to dock the command module Kitty Hawk against the lunar lander Antares to fly the two craft to the moon. Trouble was, the docking latches didn't work initially. After a suggestion from Mission Control to fire Kitty Hawk's thrusters hard and push the ships together, the latches locked successfully. Landing on the moon didn't come easily for the astronauts, either. Antares' radar did not work until almost the last minute; it would violate NASA's rules if Antares could not calculate its distance to the moon. Once that was sorted out, Shepard made an on-target landing. Shepard's first words when he walked on the surface were, "It's been a long way, but we're here." Mitchell scrambled down after him and the two got busy setting up experiments on the surface of the moon.

To help them carry more rocks and equipment, for the first time the crew had a small handcart that they carefully wheeled around the surface. Sixty-nine miles above Mitchell and Shepard, Roosa took pictures of the moon, working through his assigned list of scientific targets. Apollo 14 commander Alan Shepard photographed this overall view of a field of boulders on the flank of Cone Crater during the second extravehicular activity (EVA) on the lunar surface. Credit: NASA Hitting golf balls Apollo 14's prime geologic target was Cone Crater. The crew planned to climb the slope, reach the rim — which was 300 feet (91 meters) above the landing site — and then look for rocks that could have flown up from the moon's bedrock after a meteor smashed into the surface millions of years before. The astronauts found the climb harder than expected. Rocks littering the slope forced them to carry the cart, and the steep climb meant they had to rest often. Mission Control asked the astronauts for updates on how close they were to the rim; the astronauts guessed they were nearby, but it was hard to say for sure with the lack of landmarks to steer by.

Eventually they ran out of time and needed to move on. When the pictures were analyzed later, geologists estimated the astronauts missed the rim by a mere 100 feet . Shepard had a small gotcha for the television audience watching them just before Apollo 14 prepared to head home. He had brought a six-iron with him to the moon as well as a "little white pellet that's familiar to millions of Americans." In front of the camera, he hit one ball into a nearby crater and a second one that went "miles and miles and miles!" Apollo 14 splashed down on Earth Feb. 9. After the ruckus Apollo 13 caused, Apollo 14 helped the program regain its confidence ahead of the most challenging missions yet: those with a lunar rover. Editor's Recommendations Apollo 14 (AS-509) | National Air and Space Museum Apollo 14 (AS-509) The Third Manned Lunar Landing Apollo 14 landed in the Fra Mauro region, the intended landing site of the aborted Apollo 13 mission. The astronauts used the Modularized Equipment Transporter (MET) to haul equipment during two EVAs (later missions would use the Lunar Roving Vehicle).

They collected samples, took photographs, and the nearby Cone crater. One of the more famous moments came at the end of the second EVA when Apollo 14 commander Alan Shepard hit 2 golf balls on the Moon. Summary of Events The Apollo 14 mission was the third manned lunar landing mission. Its objective was to perform detailed scientific lunar exploration. The space vehicle with a crew of Alan B. Shepard, Jr., the commander; Stuart A. Roosa, the command module pilot; and Edgar D. Mitchell, the lunar module pilot, was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Fla., at 4:03:22 EST on January 31, 1971. The touchdown occurred at 08:37:10 GMT, February 5, within 50m (160 ft) of the target point in the Fra Mauro highlands. The first extravehicular activity (EVA) began 5 hr 23 min after touchdown. A color television camera mounted on the descent stage provided live coverage of the descent of both astronauts to the lunar surface. The crew deployed the U.S.

flag and and the solar-wind composition experiment, erected the S-band antenna, and off-loaded the modularized equipment transporter (MET), laser ranging retroreflector (LRRR), and the Apollo lunar-surface experiments package (ALSEP). The second EVA was a planned extended geological traverse of Cone Crater. All equipment required for the geological traverse, including the lunar portable magnetometer (LPM), was loaded on the MET. The traverse up the side of Cone Crater provided experience in climbing and working in hilly terrain in 1/6 earth gravity conditions. This EVA lasted 4 hr and 20 min, during which time the astronauts traveled approximately 3 km. Liftoff occurred at 18:48 GMT, February 6, after 33 hr on the lunar surface. After crew transfer, the LM ascent stage was separated and remotely guided to impact on the lunar surface. Impact occurred between Apollo 12 and 14 seismometers. The resulting seismic signal lasted for 1.5 hr and was recorded by both instruments.

The command module splashed down in the Pacific Ocean approximately 1 km from the target point at 20:24 GMT, February 9, 1971. From NASA SP-272, Apollo 14 Preliminary Science Report. NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details Apollo 14 Command and Service Module (CSM) NSSDCA/COSPAR ID: 1971-008A Description Apollo 14 was the third mission in which humans walked on the lunar surface and returned to Earth. On 5 February 1971 two astronauts (Apollo 14 Commander Alan B. Shepard, Jr. and LM pilot Edgar D. Mitchell) landed near Fra Mauro crater on the Moon in the Lunar Module (LM) while the Command and Service Module (CSM) (with CM pilot Stuart A. Roosa) continued in lunar orbit. During their stay on the Moon, the astronauts set up scientific experiments, took photographs, and collected lunar samples. The LM took off from the Moon on 6 February and the astronauts returned to Earth on 9 February.

Mission Profile After a delay of 40 minutes, 2 seconds due to clouds and rain, Apollo 14 was launched into Earth parking orbit on 31 January 1971 at 21:03:02 UT (4:03:02 p.m. EST) from pad 39A of Kennedy Space Center on Saturn V SA-509. Earth orbit insertion occurred at 21:14:51 UT followed by translunar injection at 23:37:34. An early first mid-course correction was made to make up for the launch delay so the spacecraft would arrive at the Moon on schedule. The CSM separated from the S-IVB stage containing the LM at 00:05:31 UT on 1 February. Five attempts were made to dock the CSM and the LM, all unsuccessful because the catches on the docking ring did not release. The sixth attempt, at 02:00:02 UT, was successful and no further problems with the docking mechanism occurred. The S-IVB stage was released into a lunar impact trajectory.

(It impacted the lunar surface on 4 February at 07:40:55.4 UT at 8.09 S, 26.02 W with a velocity of 2.54 km/s at a 69 degree angle from the horizontal.) A second mid-course correction was made on 2 February and a third on 4 February. Lunar orbit insertion occurred at 06:59:43 UT on 4 February. The LM, with Shepard and Mitchell aboard, separated from the CSM, piloted by Roosa, at 04:50:44 UT on 5 February and landed at 09:18:11 UT in the hilly upland region 24 km north of the rim of Fra Mauro crater at 3.6 S, 17.5 W. The astronauts made two moonwalk EVA's totaling 9 hours, 23 minutes, one on 5 February and one on 6 February, during which the Apollo lunar surface experiments package (ALSEP) was placed on the surface of the moon, 42.28 kg of lunar samples were acquired, and photographs were taken.

At the end of the second EVA Shepard hit two golf balls. Experiments were also performed from the CSM in equatorial orbit. The LM lifted off from the Moon at 18:48:42 UT on 6 February after 33 hours, 31 minutes on the lunar surface. After the LM docked with the CSM at 20:35:53 UT the lunar samples and other equipment were transferred from the LM and the LM was jettisoned at 22:48:00 UT. It impacted the Moon on 8 February 00:45:25.7 UT at 3.42 S, 19.67 W. Transearth injection began at 01:39:04 UT on 7 February. One small mid-course correction was made on 8 February during transearth coast. The CM separated from the SM at 20:35:44 UT on 9 February. Apollo 14 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on 9 February 1971 at 21:05:00 UT (4:05:00 p.m.

EST) after a mission elapsed time of 216 hrs, 1 min, 58 secs. The splashdown point was 27 deg 1 min S, 172 deg 39 min W, 765 nautical miles south of American Samoa. The astronauts and capsule were picked up by the recovery ship USS New Orleans. This was the last Apollo mission in which the astronauts were put in quaratine after their return. Performance of the spacecraft, the third of the Apollo H-series missions, was good for most aspects of the mission. The primary mission goals of deployment of the ALSEP and other scientific experiments, collection of lunar samples, surface photography, and photography, radio science and other scientific experiments from orbit were achieved with the exception of the full coverage planned for the Hycon camera. Shepard, 47, was a Navy captain on his second spaceflight (he'd flown previously as the first American in space on Mercury Redstone 3), Roosa, 37, was an Air Force major on his first spaceflight, and Mitchell, 40, was a Navy commander also on his first spaceflight.

The backup crew for this mission was Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, and Joe Engle. The Apollo 14 command module "Kitty Hawk" is currently on display at the Astronaut Hall of Fame in Titusville, Florida. Spacecraft and Subsystems As the name implies, the Command and Service Module (CSM) comprised two distinct units: the Command Module (CM), which housed the crew, spacecraft operations systems, and re-entry equipment, and the Service Module (SM) which carried most of the consumables (oxygen, water, helium, fuel cells, and fuel) and the main propulsion system. The total length of the two modules attached was 11.0 meters with a maximum diameter of 3.9 meters. Block II CSM's were used for all the crewed Apollo missions. The Apollo 14 CSM mass of 29,229 kg was the launch mass including propellants and expendables, of this the Command Module (CM-110) had a mass of 5758 kg and the Service Module (SM-110) 23,471 kg.

Telecommunications included voice, television, data, and tracking and ranging subsystems for communications between astronauts, CM, LM, and Earth. Voice contact was provided by an S-band uplink and downlink system. Tracking was done through a unified S-band transponder. A high gain steerable S-band antenna consisting of four 79-cm diameter parabolic dishes was mounted on a folding boom at the aft end of the SM. Two VHF scimitar antennas were also mounted on the SM. There was also a VHF recovery beacon mounted in the CM. The CSM environmental control system regulated cabin atmosphere, pressure, temperature, carbon dioxide, odors, particles, and ventilation and controlled the temperature range of the electronic equipment. Command Module The CM was a conical pressure vessel with a maximum diameter of 3.9 m at its base and a height of 3.65 m. It was made of an aluminum honeycomb sandwhich bonded between sheet aluminum alloy. The base of the CM consisted of a heat shield made of brazed stainless steel honeycomb filled with a phenolic epoxy resin as an ablative material and varied in thickness from 1.8 to 6.9 cm.

At the tip of the cone was a hatch and docking assembly designed to mate with the lunar module. The CM was divided into three compartments. The forward compartment in the nose of the cone held the three 25.4 m diameter main parachutes, two 5 m drogue parachutes, and pilot mortar chutes for Earth landing. The aft compartment was situated around the base of the CM and contained propellant tanks, reaction control engines, wiring, and plumbing. The crew compartment comprised most of the volume of the CM, approximately 6.17 cubic meters of space. Three astronaut couches were lined up facing forward in the center of the compartment. A large access hatch was situated above the center couch. A short access tunnel led to the docking hatch in the CM nose. The crew compartment held the controls, displays, navigation equipment and other systems used by the astronauts. The CM had five windows: one in the access hatch, one next to each astronaut in the two outer seats, and two forward-facing rendezvous windows. Five silver/zinc-oxide batteries provided power after the CM and SM detached, three for re-entry and after landing and two for vehicle separation and parachute deployment.

The CM had twelve 420 N nitrogen tetroxide/hydrazine reaction control thrusters. The CM provided the re-entry capability at the end of the mission after separation from the Service Module. Service Module The SM was a cylinder 3.9 meters in diameter and 7.6 m long which was attached to the back of the CM. The outer skin of the SM was formed of 2.5 cm thick aluminum honeycomb panels. The interior was divided by milled aluminum radial beams into six sections around a central cylinder. At the back of the SM mounted in the central cylinder was a gimbal mounted re-startable hypergolic liquid propellant 91,000 N engine and cone shaped engine nozzle. Attitude control was provided by four identical banks of four 450 N reaction control thrusters each spaced 90 degrees apart around the forward part of the SM.

The six sections of the SM held three 31-cell hydrogen oxygen fuel cells which provided 28 volts, an auxiliary battery, three cryogenic oxygen tanks (the battery and an extra oxygen tank were added after the Apollo 13 mishap as backups), two cryogenic hydrogen tanks, four tanks for the main propulsion engine, two for fuel and two for oxidizer, and the subsystems the main propulsion unit. Two helium tanks were mounted in the central cylinder. Electrical power system radiators were at the top of the cylinder and environmental control radiator panels spaced around the bottom. Apollo Program The Apollo program included a large number of uncrewed test missions and 12 crewed missions: three Earth orbiting missions (Apollo 7, 9 and Apollo-Soyuz), two lunar orbiting missions (Apollo 8 and 10), a lunar swingby (Apollo 13), and six Moon landing missions (Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17).

Two astronauts from each of these six missions walked on the Moon (Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, Charles Conrad, Alan Bean, Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, David Scott, James Irwin, John Young, Charles Duke, Gene Cernan, and Harrison Schmitt), the only humans to have set foot on another solar system body. Total funding for the Apollo program was approximately $20,443,600,000. For information on the Lunar Module and details of activities on the lunar surface, see: Launch Site: Cape Canaveral, United States Mass: 29229.0 kg NASA-Office of Manned Space Flight (United States) Disciplines Apollo 14 Lunar Surface Journal : Crew Alan Bartlett Shepard, Captain, USN NASA photo S70-56287 shows Al standing beside the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle. Personal: Born November 18, 1923, East Derry, New Hampshire. Married, two children. Education: B.S., U.S. Naval Academy, 1944. Spaceflights: Pilot, Mercury-Redstone 3 (1961).

Commander, Apollo 14 (1971). Was chosen with the first group of astronauts in 1959. Was pilot of Mercury-Redstone 3 (Freedom 7) (first American in space), and was backup pilot for Mercury-Atlas 9. Was subsequently grounded due to an inner ear ailment until May 7, 1969 (during which time he served as chief of the Astronaut Office). Commanded Apollo 14 (fifth man to walk on the Moon), and in June 1971 resumed duties as chief of the Astronaut Office. Retired from NASA and the Navy on August 1, 1974, with the rank of Rear Admiral, to join the Marathon Construction Company of Houston, Texas, as partner and chairman. Later, President, Seven/Fourteen Enterprises, Houston. Alan Shepard died on July 21, 1998 after a long battle with leukemia. Stuart Allen Roosa, Major, USAF Stu's formal Crewmember Portrait Personal: Born August 15, 1933, Durango, Colorado. Married, four children. Education: B.S.

in aeronautical engineering, University of Colorado, 1960. Spaceflights: Command module pilot, Apollo 14 (1971). Chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. Was the command module pilot of Apollo 14, and backup command module pilot for Apollo 16 and Apollo 17. Retired from the Air Force with the rank of Colonel. Resigned from NASA on February 1, 1976 to become Vice President for International Affairs, U.S. Industries Middle East Development Company, based in Athens, Greece. Returned to the United States in 1977 to become President of Jet Industries in Austin, Texas. Later worked in private business in Austin and was owner and President, Gulf Coast Coors, Inc., Gulfport, Mississippi. Stu Roosa died on December 12, 1994 of complications from pancreatitis. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetary ( 235k ). Photo courtesy Russell C. Jacobs, March 2006.

Edgar Dean Mitchell, Commander, USN Ed's formal Crewmember Portrait Personal: Born September 17, 1930, Hereford, Texas. Married, two children (by a previous marriage). Education: B.S. in industrial management, Carnegie Institute of Technology, 1952. B.S. in aeronautical engineering, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, 1961. Ph.D., aeronautics and astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1964. Spaceflights: Lunar module pilot, Apollo 14 (1971). Chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. Was backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 10, lunar module pilot for Apollo 14 (sixth man to walk on the Moon), and backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 16. Retired from the Navy, with the rank of Captain, and from NASA in October 1972 and founded the Institute of Noetic Sciences in Palo Alto, California, of which he is chairman. Was President, Edgar Mitchell Corporation (EMCO), Palm Beach, Florida from 1974 until 1978.

Later became Chairman of Mitchell Communications Company in Florida. Wrote a book entitled Psychic Exploration: A Challenge for Science. Landing and EVA-2 CapCom Fred during geology training for Apollo 13 Personal: Born November 14, 1933, Biloxi, Mississippi. Married, four children (by a previous marriage). Education: B.S. in aeronautical engineering, University of Oklahoma, 1959. Spaceflights: Lunar module pilot, Apollo 13 (1970). Served as an aviator in both the U.S Marine Corps and the U.S. Air Force, and was chosen in the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. Was backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 8 and Apollo 11, lunar module pilot for Apollo 13, and backup commander for Apollo 16. Served as Landing and EVA-2 CapCom for Apollo 14. Commanded one of the two crews that flew shuttle approach and landing tests.

Had been selected as commander of one of the four shuttle orbital flight tests, but resigned from NASA on June 29, 1979 and became President of the Technical Services Division, Grumman Corp., Titusville, Florida and of Northrop Worldwide Aircraft Services, Lawton, Oklahoma. EVA-1 and LM Launch CapCom Capt. Bruce McCandless, II, USN (Retired) Bruce's portrait in his Manned MMManeuvering Unit (MMU), before his historic STS 41-B Mission in 1984. Personal: Born June 8, 1937, Boston, Massachusetts. Married, two children. Education: B.S., U.S. Naval Academy, 1958. M.S. in electrical engineering, Stanford University, 1965. M.B.A., University of Houston at Clear Lake, 1987. Spaceflights: Mission specialist, STS 41-B (1984) and STS-31 (1990). Chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966.

Served as EVA CapCom on Apollo 11 and EVA-1 and LM Launch CapCom Apollo 14. Was backup pilot for Skylab 2 and a mission specialist on STS 41-B and on STS-31, which deployed the Hubble Space Telescope. After retiring from NASA and the Navy in 1990, he worked at Martin Marietta Astronautics Co., Denver, Colorado. Goodnight and Wake-up CapCom Col. C. Gordon Fullerton, USAF Gordo's official portrait for the Space Shuttle Approach and Landing test program. Fullerton was born October 11, 1936 in Rochester, New York; and, while a classmate of Jack Schmitt's at the California Institute of Technology, trained as an engineer . He received a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 1958. After graduation from the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards AFB in 1965, Fullerton was serving as a test pilot for the bomber operations division at Wright-Patterson AFB when he was selected into the U.S. Air Force's Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) Program.

When that program was canceled in 1969, Fullerton and others transferred to NASA. Fullerton was a member of the Apollo 14 and 17 support crews, serving as the Goodnight and Wake-up CapCom on Apollo 14 and the lunar landing and lift-off CapCom on Apollo 17. Subsequently, he joined the Shuttle program and was one of four astronauts who flew Approach and Landing Tests in 1977. In March 1982, he flew as Pilot on the third Shuttle mission (STS-3) and, with Commander Jack Lousma, performed the first - and, thus far, only - Shuttle landing at White Sands, New Mexico when poor weather had closed the dry-lake runways at Edwards. In July 1985, Fullerton commanded the 19th Shuttle flight, STS-51F. In November 1986, Fullerton left the astronaut corps and joined the Research Pilot Office at the Dryden Flight Reseach Center. He retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1988 as a Colonel but continued at Dryden as a civilian pilot.

He was still flying as a project pilot for a number of programs in January 2003. Apollo 14 Mission Overview Launch Fish-eye view of the launch of the 363-foot-tall Apollo 14 (Spacecraft No. 110/Lunar Module No. 8/Saturn No. 509) space vehicle from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 4:03:02 p.m., January 31, 1971. Because of unsatisfactory weather conditions, the launch was delayed about 40 minutes, for the first time in the Apollo program. This view of the liftoff was taken by a camera mounted on the mobile launch tower. Spacecraft As a result of the problems on Apollo 13 and to support more extensive extravehicular operations, changes made to this mission were more numerous than for previous missions.

In addition to the many changes to the CSM to prevent a repeat of the accident, the following changes were made to the LM: Support structures were added to the descent stage for attachment of the laser ranging retroreflector and the lunar portable magnetometer and a modular equipment transporter (see below) was added to the Modular Equipment Stowage Assembly (MESA). The Kitty Hawk consisted of two parts. The Command Module (CM), 3.63 meters long and shaped like a blunt cone, was at the front or top. Equipped with couches, it served as the crew compartment and control center. Able to accommodate all three astronauts, the CM was also used for reentry. The Service Module (SM), a 6.88-meter-long cylinder, was at the rear of the CM. It provided the primary propulsion and maneuvering capability of the spacecraft. Most of the consumables (oxygen, hydrogen, propellant) were also stored in this module, which was jetisoned before reentry. The Lunar Module (LM) also had two parts, the descent stage and the ascent stage. The descent stage, or lower part of the LM, contained the engine used for landing on the Moon.

This stage was a cruciform structure of aluminum alloy 3.23 meters high, and with its four legs extended had a maximum diameter of 9.45 meters. This stage also contained storage bays for equipment, and a ladder attached to one of the legs gave the crew access to the surface. When the time came to leave the surface, the descent stage served as the launch platform for the ascent stage. The ascent stage was basically a cylindrical aluminum structure 4.29 meters in diameter and 3.75 meters tall. During their time on the surface, the crew lived in and operated from this part of the spacecraft. It was also used to return the crew to orbit and the CSM after surface operations were completed. A prototype of the Modular Equipment Transporter (MET), nicknamed the "Rickshaw" because of its shape and method of propulsion. This equipment was used by the Apollo 14 astronauts during their geological and lunar surface simulation training in the Pinacate volcano area of northwestern Sonora, Mexico. The Apollo 14 crew was the first to use the MET.

It was a portable workbench with a place for the lunar handtools and their carrier, three cameras, two sample container bags, a Special Environmental Sample Container, spare film magazines, and a Lunar Surface Penetrometer. Crew Alan B. Shepard Jr., Mission Commander, was born on November 18, 1923, in East Derry, New Hampshire. He received a B.S. from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1944. He was chosen with the first group of astronauts in 1959 and became America's first man in space as the pilot of the Mercury 3 mission, Freedom 7. He was back-up pilot for Mercury 9 and then was grounded due to an inner ear ailment until May 7, 1969. He was commander of the Apollo 14 mission and the fifth man to walk on the Moon. In June 1971 he resumed duties as Chief of the Astronaut Office, the position he had held while grounded. He retired from NASA and the Navy August 1, 1974. Stuart A.

Roosa, Command Module Pilot, was born on August 15, 1933, in Durango, Colorado. He received a B.S. in aeronautical engineering from the Universtiy of Colorado in 1960. He was chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966. He was the back-up command module pilot for Apollo 14 and 16. He resigned from NASA on February 1, 1976. Edgar D. Mitchell, Lunar Module Pilot, was born on September 14, 1930, in Hereford, Texas. He received a B.S. in Industrial Management from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1952. He also received a B.S. in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1961 and a D.S. in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1964. He was chosen with the fifth group of astronauts in 1966, and was back-up lunar module pilot for Apollo 10 and Apollo 16. He was the sixth man to walk on the Moon.

He retired from the Navy and NASA in October 1972. The Back-up Crew The back-up crew members for Apollo 14 were Eugene A. Cernan (pilot on Gemini 9, back-up pilot for Gemini 12, back-up LM pilot for Apollo 7, and LM pilot for Apollo 10), back-up commander, Ronald E. Evans, back-up command module pilot, and Joe H. Engle, back-up lunar module pilot. APOLLO 14 APOLLO 14 31 Januaryï¿½09 February 1971 Background Apollo 14 was a Type H mission, a precision piloted lunar landing demonstration and systematic lunar exploration. It was the third successful lunar landing. The primary objectives were: to perform selenological inspection, survey, and sampling of materials in a preselected region of the Fra Mauro formation; to deploy and activate the Apollo lunar surface experiments package; to develop human capability of working in the lunar environment; to obtain photographs of candidate exploration sites.

Although the primary mission objectives for Apollo 14 were the same as those of Apollo 13, provisions were made for returning a significantly greater quantity of lunar material and scientific data than had been possible previously. An innovation that allowed an increase in the range of lunar surface exploration and in the amount of material collected was the provision of a collapsible two-wheeled cart, the modular equipment transporter (MET), for carrying tools, cameras, a portable magnetometer, and lunar samples. An investigation into the cause of the Apollo 13 cryogenic oxygen tank failure led to three significant changes in the CSM cryogenic oxygen storage and electrical power systems for Apollo 14. The internal construction of the oxygen tanks was modified, a third oxygen tank was added, and an auxiliary battery was installed. These changes were also incorporated into all subsequent spacecraft. The crew members were Captain Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr. (USN), commander; Major Stuart Allen Roosa (USAF), command module pilot; and Commander Edgar Dean Mitchell (USN), lunar module pilot. Selected as one of the original astronauts in 1959, Shepard became the first American in space when he piloted the initial Mercury suborbital mission (MR-3).

Shepard subsequently developed an ear disorder, Meniereï¿½s syndrome, which caused the Navy to forbid him to fly solo in jet planes, and which forced NASA to ground him. He then became chief of the astronaut office. In 1969, however, Shepard underwent experimental surgery that corrected the problem. He was restored to full status in May and assigned to command Apollo 14 in August. Shepard was born 18 November 1923 in East Derry, New Hampshire, and at 47 years old, he would become the oldest person to walk on the Moon. He received a B.S. from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1944.[1] His backup for the mission was Captain Eugene Andrew ï¿½Geneï¿½ Cernan (USN). Roosa and Mitchell were making their first space flights. Roosa, born 16 August 1933 in Durango, Colorado, was 37 years old at the time of the Apollo 14 mission. He received a B.S.

in aeronautical engineering from the University of Colorado in 1960 and was selected as an astronaut in 1966.[2] His backup was Commander Ronald Ellwin Evans (USN). Mitchell, born 17 September 1930 in Hereford, Texas, was 40 years old. He received a B.S. in industrial management from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1952, a B.S. in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1961, and an Sc.D. in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1964. He was selected as an astronaut in 1966. His backup was Lt. Colonel Joe Henry Engle (USAF). The capsule communicators (CAPCOMs) for the mission were Major Charles Gordon Fullerton (USAF), Lt. Commander Bruce McCandless II (USN), Fred Wallace Haise, Jr., and Evans. The support crew were McCandless, Lt. Colonel William Reid Pogue (USAF), Fullerton, and Phillip Kenyon Chapman, Sc.D. The flight directors were M.P.

ï¿½Peteï¿½ Frank and Glynn S. Lunney (first shift), Milton L. Windler (second shift), Gerald D. Griffin (third shift), and Glynn S. Lunney (fourth shift). The Apollo 14 launch vehicle was a Saturn V, designated SA-509. The mission also carried the designation Eastern Test Range #7194. The CSM was designated CSM-110 and had the call-sign ï¿½Kitty Hawk.ï¿½ The lunar module was designated LM-8 and had the call-sign ï¿½Antares.ï¿½ Launch Preparations The terminal countdown was picked up at T-28 hours at 06:00:00 GMT on 30 January 1971. Scheduled holds were initiated at T-9 hours for 9 hours 23 minutes and at T-3 hours 30 minutes for one hour. At launch time, a cold front extended through northern Florida. Scattered rain shower activity existed to the south of this front throughout the morning of launch, but the showers did not reach the launch area until just before the scheduled launch time.

A band of cumulus congestus clouds with showers developed about 30 minutes before scheduled launch time along a line extending from Orlando toward the northern Merritt Island Launch Area (MILA). This, and the threat of lightning, necessitated a 40-minute 2-second hold at T-8 minutes until the showers had moved a sufficient distance from the launch complex. Although it was raining prior to launch, there was no rain at the pad at the time of launch, but the vehicle did travel through the cloud decks. Surface winds in the Cape Canaveral area were fairly light and westerly. Cumulus clouds covered 70 percent of the sky (base 4,000 feet) and altocumulus covered 20 percent (base 8,000 feet), the temperature was 71.1ï¿½ F, the relative humidity was 86 percent, and the barometric pressure was 14.652 lb/in2. The winds, as measured by the anemometer on the light pole 60.0 feet above ground at the launch site, measured 9.7 knots at 255ï¿½ from true north.

The winds at 530 feet above the launch site measured 16.5 knots at 275ï¿½ from true north. The weather delay required the flight azimuth to be changed from 72.067ï¿½ to 75.558ï¿½ east of north. Ascent Phase Apollo 14 was launched from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39, Pad A, at a Range Zero time of 21:03:02 GMT (04:03:02 p.m. EST) on 31 January 1971. The planned launch window was from 20:23:00 GMT on 31 January to 00:12:00 GMT on 1 February to take advantage of a sun elevation angle on the lunar surface of 10.3ï¿½. Between 000:00:12.814 and 000:00:28.000, the vehicle rolled from a launch pad azimuth of 90ï¿½ to a flight azimuth of 75.558ï¿½.

The S-IC engine shut down at 000:02:44.10, followed by S-IC/S-II separation and S-II engine ignition. The S-II engine shut down at 000:09:19.05, followed by separation from the S-IVB, which ignited at 000:09:23.4. The first S-IVB engine cutoff occurred at 000:11:40.56, with deviations from the planned trajectory of only -2.6 ft/sec in velocity; altitude was exactly as planned. The maximum wind conditions encountered during ascent were 102.6 knots at 255ï¿½ from true north at 43,270 feet, with a maximum wind shear of 0.0201 sec-1 at 43,720 feet.

Parking orbit conditions at insertion, 000:11:50.56 (S-IVB cutoff plus 10 seconds to account for engine tailoff and other transient effects), showed an apogee and perigee of 100.1 by 98.9 n mi, an inclination of 31.120ï¿½, a period of 88.18 minutes, and a velocity of 25,565.8 ft/sec. The apogee and perigee were based upon a spherical Earth with a radius of 3,443.934 n mi. The international designation for the CSM upon achieving orbit was 1971-008A, and the S-IVB was designated 1971-008B. After undocking at the moon, the LM ascent stage would be designated 1971-008C and the descent stage 1971-008D.

After inflight systems checks, the 350.84-second translunar injection maneuver (second S-IVB firing) was performed at 002:28:32.40. The S-IVB engine shut down at 002:34:23.24 and translunar injection occurred ten seconds later, at a velocity of 35,511.6 ft/sec after 1.5 Earth orbits lasting 2 hours 22 minutes 42.68 seconds. Translunar Phase At 003:02:29.4, the CSM was separated from the S-IVB stage. Transposition occurred normally; however, six docking attempts were required before the CSM was successfully docked with the LM at 004:56:56.7. The docked spacecraft were ejected from the S-IVB by a 6.9-second maneuver at 005:47:14.4, and an 80.2-second separation maneuver was performed at 006:04:01.7. Inflight examination of the docking probe revealed no problems.

It was therefore assumed that the capture-latch assembly must not have been in the locked configuration during the first five attempts. As on Apollo 13, the S-IVB stage was targeted to impact the Moon within a prescribed area to supply seismic data. A 252.2-second auxiliary propulsion system lunar impact maneuver was performed at 008:59:59.0 to accomplish that objective. The S-IVB impacted the lunar surface at 082:37:53.4. The impact point was latitude 8.09ï¿½ south and longitude 26.02ï¿½ west, 159 n mi from the target point, and 94 n mi southwest of the Apollo 12 seismometer. The seismometer recorded the impact 37 seconds later and responded to vibrations for more than three hours. At impact, the S-IVB weighed 30,836 pounds and was traveling 8,333 ft/sec. Translunar activities included star and Earth horizon calibration sightings in preparation for a cislunar navigation exercise to be performed during transearth coast, and dim-light photography of the Earth.

A 10.19-second midcourse correction was made at 030:36:07.91. At 060:30, the commander and lunar module pilot transferred to the LM for two hours of housekeeping and systems checks. While there, the crew photographed a wastewater dump from the CM to obtain data for a particle contamination study being conducted for the Skylab program. A second midcourse correction, a 0.65-second maneuver, was made at 076:58:11.98 to achieve the final trajectory desired for lunar-orbit insertion. At 054:53:36, a clock update was performed to compensate for the weather hold during the launch countdown. This procedure, which added 40 minutes 20.9 seconds to the mission time clock, was an aid to the command module pilot while in lunar orbit because it eliminated the need for numerous updates to his flight log.

At 081:56:40.70, at an altitude of 87.4 n mi above the Moon, the service propulsion engine was fired for 370.84 seconds to insert the spacecraft into a lunar orbit of 169.0 by 58.1 n mi. The translunar coast had lasted 79 hours 28 minutes 18.30 seconds. Lunar Orbit/Lunar Surface Phase At 086:10:52.97, a 20.81-second service propulsion system maneuver was performed and established the descent orbit of 58.8 by 9.1 n mi in preparation for undocking of the LM. On previous missions, the descent orbit insertion maneuver had been performed with the LM descent propulsion system. Because the landing site was more rugged than previous ones, a greater margin of LM propellant was provided.. The commander and lunar module pilot entered the LM at 101:20 to perform system checks and prepare for undocking.

A 2.7-second firing of the service module reaction control system separated the CM from the LM at 103:47:41.6 and resulted in an orbit of 60.2 by 7.8 n mi. A 4.02-second maneuver at 105:11:46.11 circularized the CSM to 63.9 by 56.0 n mi. Following vehicle separation and before powered descent, ground personnel detected the presence of an abort command at a computer input channel although the crew had not depressed the abort switch. The failure was isolated to the abort switch, and to prevent an unwanted abort, a workaround procedure was developed. The procedure was followed and the 764.61-second powered descent was performed successfully at 108:02:26.52 at an altitude of 7.8 n mi. Approximately six minutes after initial actuation of the landing radar, the system switched to the low-range scale, forcing the trackers into the narrow-band mode of operation.

This ranging scale problem would have prevented acquisition of radar data until late in the descentï¿½and prevented a lunar landingï¿½but it was corrected by cycling the circuit breaker on and off manually. LM left pad surface contact occurred at 108:15:09.3 followed by engine shutdown 1.83 seconds later. The remaining pads touched down at 09:18:13 GMT (04:18:13 a.m. EST) on 5 February at 108:15:11.4. The spacecraft landed in the Fra Mauro highlands at latitude 3.64530ï¿½ south and longitude 17.47136ï¿½ west, the intended landing site for Apollo 13. Approximately 68 seconds of engine firing time remained at landing. Preparations for the initial period of lunar surface exploration began two hours after landing, and cabin depressurization began at 113:39:11. The first EVA began 49 minutes late due to intermittent PLSS communications during the EVA preparations. The cause was believed to have been a LM configuration problem.

A recycling of the audio circuit breaker cleared the problem. The commander exited at 113:47. He was followed eight minutes later by the lunar module pilot, whose first task was to collect the contingency sample. During the first extravehicular period, the crew deployed the television, S-band antenna, and solar wind experiment; deployed and loaded the modularized equipment; collected samples; and photographed activities, panoramas, and equipment. At 115:46, the pair began their trip to the Apollo lunar surface experiments package deployment site, about 500 feet west of the LM. They also deployed the laser-ranging retro-reflector 100 feet west of the ALSEP. The first ALSEP data were received on Earth at 116:47:58. Several problems were encountered during the deployment of the ALSEP package.

They were as follows: difficulty in releasing the Boyd bolt on the suprathermal ion detector; stiffness in the cable between the suprathermal ion detector and the cold cathode ion gauge, which caused the cold cathode ion gauge to fall over; low transmitter strength on the central station; noisy data from the suprathermal ion detector experiment; and failure of five of the active seismic experiment thumper initiators to fire. Although communications were nominal during this period, gradual degradation of the television picture resolution was noted during the latter part of the EVA. The crew entered the LM and the cabin was repressurized at 118:27:01. The first extravehicular activity period lasted 4 hours 47 minutes 50 seconds. The distance traveled was about 3,300 feet (1 km); 45.19 pounds (20.5 kg) of samples were collected. During the lunar surface operations, the CSM made an 18.50-second plane change maneuver at 117:29:33.17, which adjusted the orbit to 62.1 by 57.7 n mi.

The second extravehicular activity began with cabin depressurization at 131:08:13, 27 minutes earlier than planned, commander egress at 131:13 and lunar module pilot egress seven minutes later. In preparation for an excursion to the area of Cone Crater, 0.7 n mi (1.3 km) east-northeast of the landing site, the crew prepared and loaded the modular equipment transporter. They experienced difficulties in navigating the slopes and fell 30 minutes behind schedule. As a result, they only reached a point within 50 feet (15 m) from the rim of the crater. Nevertheless, the objectives associated with reaching the vicinity of this crater were achieved. En route to Cone Crater, photographs, various samples, and terrain descriptions were obtained. Rock and soil samples were collected in a blocky field near the rim. On the return to the LM, the crew also obtained magnetometer measurements at two sites along the traverse. An estimated 1.5-foot trench was dug and samples were taken. An unsuccessful attempt to obtain a triple core tube sample was made, but other containerized samples were collected.

An alignment adjustment was made to the ALSEP central stationï¿½s antenna just prior to crew ingress in order to improve the signal strength being received at the Manned Space Flight Network ground stations. This improved signal strength approximately 1/2 db; however, data could still be received by the 30-foot antenna. Before reentering the LM, the CDR dropped a golf ball onto the surface. Using the head of a ï¿½6-ironï¿½ attached to the handle of the contingency sample collector, he attempted to strike the ball but struck mostly soil and barely moved the ball. The second swing sent the ball a few feet to the right. He dropped a second ball which he hit into a crater about 50 feet away. The LMP later threw the staff from the solar wind experiment into the same crater. The second extravehicular activity period lasted 4 hours 34 minutes 41 seconds. The distance traveled was about 9,800 feet (3 km); 49.16 pounds (22.3 kg) of samples were collected.

The crew reentered the LM and the cabin was repressurized at 135:42:54, thus ending the third human exploration of the Moon. While the landing crew was on the surface, the CMP performed tasks to obtain data for scientific analyses and future mission planning. These tasks included photography of the proposed Descartes landing site, the lunar surface under high-sun-angle lighting conditions, photography of low-brightness astronomical light sources, and photography of the Gegenschein and Moulton Point regions. For the mission, the total time spent outside the LM was 9 hours 22 minutes 31 seconds, the total distance traveled was more than 13,100 feet (4 km), and the collected samples totaled 93.21 pounds (42.28 kg; official total in kilograms as determined by the Lunar Receiving Laboratory in Houston). The farthest point traveled from the LM was 4,770 feet. Ignition of the ascent stage engine for lunar liftoff occurred at 18:48:42 GMT (13:48:42 EST) on 6 February at 141:45:40.

The LM had been on the lunar surface for 33 hours 30 minutes 31 seconds. The 432.1-second firing of the ascent engine placed the vehicle directly into a 51.7 by 8.5 n mi orbit, the first use of a direct lunar orbit rendezvous in the Apollo program. However, a 12.1-second vernier adjustment was required at 141:56:49.4 and altered the orbit to 51.2 by 8.4 n mi. A 3.6-second terminal phase initiate maneuver at 142:30:51.1 and two small midcourse corrections brought the ascent stage to an orbit of 60.1 by 46.0 n mi. The ascent stage made a 26.7-second maneuver at 143:13:29.1 to finalize the orbit at 61.5 by 58.2 n mi for docking with the CSM at 143:32:50.5 at an altitude of 58.6 n mi.

The two craft had been undocked for 39 hours 45 minutes 8.9 seconds. During the braking phase for docking, telemetry indicated that the abort guidance system had failed, but no caution and warning signals were on. A cycling of all circuit breakers and switches did not remedy this condition. Although no probe/drogue problems were experienced during docking, the probe was returned to Earth for postflight analysis. Television during rendezvous and docking was excellent and clearly showed the docking maneuver. After transfer of the crew and samples to the CM, the ascent stage was jettisoned at 145:44:58.0, and the CSM was prepared for transearth injection. The ascent stage was then maneuvered by remote control to impact the lunar surface. A 15.8-second maneuver was made at 145:49:42.5 to separate the CM from the ascent stage, and resulted in an orbit of 63.4 by 56.8 n mi.

A 76.2-second deorbit firing at 57.2 n mi altitude depleted the ascent stage propellants, and impact occurred at 147:42:23.7. The impact point was latitude 3.42ï¿½ south and longitude 19.67ï¿½ west, 36 n mi west of the Apollo 14 landing site, 62 n mi from the Apollo 12 landing site, and 7 n mi from the target. On Apollo 14, special dust control procedures were used to effectively decrease the amount of lunar surface dust in the cabins. On previous missions, dust adhering to equipment being returned to Earth had created a problem. Following a 149.23-second maneuver at 148:36:02.30, transearth injection was achieved at 148:38:31.53 at a velocity of 8,505 ft/sec after 34 lunar orbits lasting 66 hours 35 minutes 39.99 seconds.

Transearth Phase During transearth coast, a 3.00-second midcourse correction of 0.5 ft/sec was made at 165:34:56.69 using the service module reaction control system. In addition, a special oxygen flowrate test was performed to evaluate the system for planned extravehicular activities on subsequent missions, and a navigation exercise simulating a return to Earth without ground control was conducted using only the guidance and navigation system. Scientific investigations included televised demonstrations of electrophoretic separation, liquid transfer, heat flow and convection, and composite casting under zero-gravity conditions. Recovery The service module was jettisoned at 215:32:42.2, and the CM followed a normal entry profile. The command module reentered the Earthï¿½s atmosphere (400,000 feet altitude) at 215:47:45.3 at a velocity of 36,170.2 ft/sec following a transearth coast of 67 hours 9 minutes 13.8 seconds.

The service module should have entered Earthï¿½s atmosphere and its debris should have landed in the Pacific Ocean 650 n mi southwest of the CM splashdown; however, no radar data or sightings confirmed the entry or impact. The parachute system effected splashdown of the CM in the Pacific Ocean at 21:05:00 GMT (04:05:00 p.m. EST) on 9 February. Mission duration was 216:01:58.1. The impact point was about 0.6 n mi from the target point and 3.8 n mi from the recovery ship U.S.S. New Orleans. The splashdown site was estimated to be latitude 27.02ï¿½ south and longitude 172.67ï¿½ west. After splashdown, the CM assumed an apex-up flotation attitude. The crew was retrieved by helicopter and was aboard the recovery ship 48 minutes after splashdown. The CM was recovered 76 minutes later.

The estimated CM weight at splashdown was 11,481.2 pounds, and the estimated distance traveled for the mission was 1,000,279 n mi. The crew remained aboard the New Orleans in the mobile quarantine facility until they departed by aircraft for Pago Pago, Samoa, at 17:46 GMT on 11 February. They were then transferred to a second mobile quarantine facility aboard a C-141 aircraft and flown to Ellington Air Force Base, Houston, where they arrived at 09:34 GMT on 12 February, following a refueling stop at Norton Air Force Base, California. The crew entered the lunar receiving laboratory at 11:35 GMT the same day. After the New Orleans arrived at Hawaii, the CM and first mobile quarantine facility were offloaded at 21:30 GMT on 17 February. The first mobile quarantine facility was sent by aircraft to Houston, where it arrived at 07:40 GMT on 18 February. The CM was taken to Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, for deactivation.

Upon completion of deactivation, at 23:00 GMT on 19 February, it was transferred to Ellington Air Force Base via C-133 aircraft, where it arrived at 21:45 GMT on 22 February. The crew and medical support personnel were released from quarantine on 27 February, and the CM and lunar samples were released on 4 April. The tests showed no evidence of lunar microorganisms at the three sites explored, and this was considered to be sufficient justification for discontinuing the quarantine procedures on future missions. Conclusions The Apollo 14 mission was the third successful lunar landing and demonstrated excellent performance of all contributing elements, thereby resulting in the collection of a wealth of scientific information. All of the objectives and experiment operations were accomplished satisfactorily except for some desired photography that could not be obtained. The following conclusions were made from an analysis of post-mission data: Cryogenic oxygen system hardware modifications and changes made as a result of the Apollo 13 failure satisfied, within safe limits, all system requirements for future missions, including extravehicular activity.

The advantages of piloted space flight were again clearly demonstrated on this mission by the crewï¿½s ability to diagnose and work around hardware problems and malfunctions which otherwise might have resulted in mission termination. Navigation was the most difficult lunar surface task because of problems in finding and recognizing small features, reduced visibility in the up-sun and down-sun directions, and the inability to judge distances. Rendezvous within one orbit of lunar ascent was demonstrated for the first time in the Apollo program. This type of rendezvous reduced the time between lunar liftoff and docking by approximately two hours from that required on previous missions. The timeline activities, however, were greatly compressed. On previous lunar missions, lunar surface dust adhering to equipment being returned to Earth had created a problem in both spacecraft. The special dust control procedures and equipment used on this mission were effective in lowering the overall level of dust. Onboard navigation without air-to-ground communications was successfully demonstrated during the transearth phase of the mission to be sufficiently accurate for use as a contingency mode of operation during future missions. Launching through cumulus clouds with tops up to 10,000 feet was demonstrated to be a safe launch restriction for the prevention of triggered lightning.

The cloud conditions at liftoff were at the limit of this restriction and no triggered lightning was recorded during the launch phase. [1] Shepard died of leukemia 21 July 1998 in Community Hospital in Monterey, CA. [2] Roosa died of complications from pancreatitis 12 December 1994 in Washington, DC. (NASA Headquarters Release No. 94-210). NASA - Apollo 14 Apollo 14 › Apollo 14 Image Gallery When all was said and done, the Apollo 13 accident caused only about a four-month slip of the next mission. Apollo 14 was launched on January 31, 1971. Four days later, Commander Alan Shepard and Lunar Module Pilot Ed Mitchell landed at Fra Mauro. During the final approach, they recognized Cone Crater right at pitchover and, soon thereafter, picked up the familiar pattern of smaller craters near their aim-point another mile or so to the west.

The only problem with the landing spot was that it was on an eight degree slope; and, for 24 of the next 33 hours, the astronauts had to contend with a tilting floor that threatened to dump Shepard over onto Mitchell's side of the spacecraft. In addition, the tilt contributed to a sleepless night between the two EVAs; but, otherwise, the LM attitude had no effect on the mission. No one had yet had a good sleep on the Moon and Shepard and Mitchell were to be no exception. But they were down, virtually on target, and otherwise were in great shape. Within about three hours of the landing, after reconfiguring the LM for takeoff and after taking time out to have lunch and to pass along some excellent descriptions of the view out the window, Shepard and Mitchell started to don their backpacks. They were getting ready, as Shepard said, "to go out and play in the snow." The mental picture came easily.

Outside the window, the soft, rounded forms of the craters gave the look of snow-covered ground and, although the color wasn't quite right - it was "mouse-brown or mouse-gray" depending on where they looked in relation to the Sun - the black lunar sky made it easy to think of a snowy winter's night back home. And to top off the image, Shepard and Mitchell only had to look at each other, standing there in their cumbersome spacesuits, donning the thick gloves, eager to get outside. Play in the snow, indeed! Although Shepard and Mitchell could have used a good sleep before making the climb up to Cone Crater, both of them were too keyed up to make full use of the scheduled rest period. In the interest of getting in a full second EVA, they talked Houston into cutting the rest period by an hour and, naturally, spent a good deal of the time lying awake. Anticipation was a major contributor to their sleeplessness; but, as with Apollo 12, the mission simply wasn't going to be long enough for them to get out of the suits.

Unpressurized, the suits were uncomfortable and irritating and, in part because of the neckrings, the astronauts felt that there was no place to rest their heads comfortably. And as a final factor, once they were stretched out in the hammocks the tilt of the spacecraft became more and more obvious. Rationally, they knew they were okay; but, at intervals through the night they awoke from a half sleep and, in the light lunar gravity, had the uncomfortable feeling that the LM was tipping over. Several times during the night, one or the other of them felt that they had to push aside the window covers and, just to be certain, take a look outside. In the morning, it was they who called Houston - a half hour before the agreed on wake-up time. They reported getting about four hours of sleep apiece, but that was certainly a generous estimate. The Apollo 14 crew was particularly pressed for time. During their climb up to Cone there hadn't been time to do much more than grab samples. However, in the process, they demonstrated that it was possible to make long walking traverses over moderately difficult terrain.

Perhaps if they had snaked their way up the hillside rather than making a frontal assault, the climb might not have been so arduous. But, in any event, Shepard and Mitchell had succeeded in climbing the hill and, although the Lunar Rover would provide a far more efficient way of doing geology, it was clear that, with some care taken in avoiding steep, uphill climbs, the later crews would be able to walk back to the LM from a Rover breakdown. Apollo 14 was an important bit of preparation for the sophisticated Rover missions with which the Apollo series ended. It was a confidence builder. And it was also one for the record books. Al Shepard got a chance to take a few swings at a golf ball he'd brought along. The stiff suit forced him to swing one-handed and he fanned on the first two tries. But with the third he connected and the ball went "miles and miles and miles", he said. The truth wasn't quite so spectacular, but it was the first lunar golf shot.

Human Space Flight (HSF) - Apollo History 9 days, 1 minute, 58 seconds The planned landing site for the Apollo 13 mission, Fra Mauro, contains some of the most clearly exposed geological formations that are characteristic of the Fra Mauro Formation. The formation is an extensive geological unit that is distributed -- in an approximately radially symmetric fashion around the Mare Imbrium -- over much of the nearside of the Moon. After the Apollo 13 mission failed to achieve a lunar landing, the importance of the Fra Mauro landing site led to a decision to attempt a landing in the same area during the Apollo 14 mission. The final landing site was very close to that chosen for the Apollo 13 mission. Commander Alan Shepard Jr. and Lunar Module Pilot Edgar D. Mitchell performed lunar surface experiments that differed somewhat from those planned for the Apollo 13 mission. The crew's traverse capability was improved by the addition of the Modularized Equipment Transporter, which is a light, hand-drawn cart that enabled the crew to transport tools and samples with greater ease. Two moon walks occurred, both totaling 9 hours and 21 minutes.

Just before ending the last moon walk, Alan Shepard became the first person to hit a golf ball on the Moon. After lunar liftoff, the Lunar Module rendezvoused with the Command Module piloted by Stuart Roosa. The Missions Apollo 14 | NASA Apollo 14 1/21/70 - S-IVB ondock at Kennedy 1/21/70 - S-II ondock at Kennedy 1/12/70 - S-IC ondock at Kennedy 5/6/70 - S-IU ondock at Kennedy Launch Jan. 31, 1971; 4:03 p.m.

EDT Launch Pad 39A Duration: nine days, two minutes Distance: 1,150,321 miles Lunar Coordinates: 3.65 degrees south, 17.48 degrees west Landing Recovery Ship: USS New Orleans Mission Objective The primary objectives of this mission were to explore the Fra Mauro region centered around deployment of the Apollo Lunar Surface Scientific Experiments Package, or ALSEP; lunar field geology investigations; collection of surface material samples for return to Earth; deployment of other scientific instruments not part of ALSEP; orbital science involving high-resolution photography of candidate future landing sites; photography of deep-space phenomena, such as zodiacal light and gegenschein; communications tests using S-band and VHF signals to determine reflective properties of the lunar surface; engineering and operational evaluation of hardware and techniques; tests to determine variations in S-band signals; and photography of surface details from 60 nautical miles in altitude. Mission Highlights Apollo 14 launched at 4:03 p.m. EST. At approximately 3:41 p.m. ground elapsed time, or GET, difficulties were experienced in docking with the lunar module, or LM, and six attempts were required before a "hard dock" was achieved.

An in-flight televised inspection of the docking mechanism revealed no apparent reason for the malfunction and the system appeared to be functioning normally. Prior to the powered descent initiation, or PDI, for the Antares landing, a short in the LM computer abort switch was discovered, which could have triggered an undesired abort during the LM's descent. On Feb. 5, Antares made the most precise landing to date, approximately 87 feet from the targeted landing point. The landing point coordinates were 3 degrees, 40 minutes, 27 seconds south and 17 degrees, 27 minutes, 58 seconds west, midway between the Doublet and Triplet craters in the hilly uplands of the Fra Mauro crater, and about 110 miles east of the Apollo 12 landing site. Due to communications system problems, the first period of extra vehicular activity, or EVA, began almost one hour later than scheduled with Commander Alan Shepard setting foot on the lunar surface at 114 hours, 31 minutes GET. The first of the two EVA periods included ALSEP deployment and lasted four hours, 49 minutes. The second EVA on Feb.

6 began when the LM egress hatch was opened at 4:15 a.m. EST. During this EVA, Shepard and Edgar Mitchell moved more than half a mile from their LM, conducting selenological investigations, collecting samples and attempting to reach the rim of Cone crater, approximately 300 feet above the landing site. NASA personnel monitoring the EVA estimate that the two astronauts were within 50 to 75 meters of the crater rim when they were advised by mission control to collect samples at that spot and begin their traverse back to the LM. The second EVA lasted four hours, 35 minutes, resulting in a new mark for EVA time by a lunar landing crew: nine hours, 24 minutes. Shepard set a new distance-traveled record on the lunar surface of approximately 9,000 feet. During the two traverses, the astronauts collected 94 pounds of rocks and soil for return to Earth. The samples were scheduled to go to 187 scientific teams in the United States, as well as 14 other countries for study and analysis. Orbital science activities were conducted by Stuart Roosa during the lunar surface activities period.

He experienced some difficulties with the high-resolution, motion-compensating Hycon Lunar Topographic Camera while attempting to photograph the Descartes area, the landing site planned for Apollo 16. The liftoff of Antares from the lunar surface took place precisely on schedule. Rendezvous and docking occured only two minutes later than scheduled. The command module Kitty Hawk splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean at 4:05 p.m. EST Feb. 9, exactly nine days and two minutes after launch. The actual landing point was only 1.02 nautical miles off its targeted point of about 765 nautical miles south of Samoa, and four miles from the prime recovery ship, the USS New Orleans. The mission duration from liftoff to splashdown was 216 hours, two minutes.

Question: Who was the commander of Apollo 14
Answer: Alan Shepard