What was Apollo 14 and when did it launch?
Apollo 14 was the eighth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program and the third to land on the Moon. It launched on the 31st of January 1971 and returned to Earth on the 9th of February 1971.
Questions about Apollo 14
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Who were the astronauts on Apollo 14?
The crew consisted of Commander Alan Shepard, Command Module Pilot Stuart Roosa, and Lunar Module Pilot Edgar Mitchell. Shepard, aged 47 at the time, was the oldest American astronaut to fly and the oldest person to walk on the Moon.
Where did Apollo 14 land on the Moon?
Apollo 14 landed in the Fra Mauro formation on the 5th of February 1971, the same site originally targeted by Apollo 13. Fra Mauro is composed of ejecta from the impact that formed Mare Imbrium, making it scientifically valuable for studying early lunar geology.
Why did Alan Shepard bring a golf club to the Moon?
Shepard smuggled a Wilson six iron club head onto the mission and attached it to a contingency sample tool handle. After completing surface tasks during the second EVA, he hit two golf balls one-handed, estimating the second traveled approximately 40 yards in the low lunar gravity. He donated the club head to the USGA Museum in New Jersey after the mission.
What is the Big Bertha Moon rock from Apollo 14?
Big Bertha is a 19.837-pound sample collected during Apollo 14. In January 2019, researchers from Curtin University found granite, quartz, and zircon within it that closely resemble Earth materials rather than typical lunar samples. Zircon dating placed the rock at approximately four billion years old, raising the possibility it is a terrestrial meteorite and the oldest known Earth rock.
What are Apollo 14 Moon trees?
Command Module Pilot Stuart Roosa carried several hundred tree seeds on the Apollo 14 mission. Many were successfully germinated after the spacecraft returned to Earth and were distributed worldwide as Moon trees. Some seedlings went to state forestry associations in 1975 and 1976 to commemorate the United States Bicentennial.