Apollo 14
Apollo 14 launched from Launch Complex 39-A at Kennedy Space Center on Sunday, the 31st of January 1971, at 4:03:02 p.m. EST. This mission marked the third crewed landing on the Moon and the first to touch down in the lunar highlands of the Fra Mauro formation. The crew consisted of Commander Alan Shepard, Command Module Pilot Stuart Roosa, and Lunar Module Pilot Edgar Mitchell. Their nine-day journey aimed to recover scientific samples from a site originally targeted by the failed Apollo 13 mission. Geologists hoped these rocks would reveal details about the Moon's deep history following the Imbrium impact event. The mission was delayed from its original 1970 schedule due to safety investigations into the Apollo 13 oxygen tank failure. NASA Administrator Thomas O. Paine announced in May 1970 that the new launch date would be no earlier than the 3rd of December 1970. By the 30th of June 1970, the launch window shifted again to no earlier than the 31st of January 1971. The astronauts trained for 19 months after assignment, longer than any previous Apollo crew. They faced immense pressure to succeed because two consecutive failures could have ended the entire program.
Alan Shepard became the first American to enter space with a suborbital flight on the 5th of May 1961. He later suffered from Ménière's disease, which grounded him until experimental surgery in 1968 restored his flight status. At age 47 during this mission, he was the oldest U.S. astronaut to fly and remains the oldest person to walk on the Moon. Stuart Roosa served as Command Module Pilot at age 37. Before joining the Air Force in 1953, he worked as a smoke jumper. He completed Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California before becoming an astronaut in 1966. Edgar Mitchell joined the Navy in 1952 and served as a fighter pilot starting in 1954. He also completed Aerospace Research Pilot School before selection as a Group 5 astronaut. Deke Slayton originally designated Shepard and his crew for Apollo 13 but reassigned them to Apollo 14 to allow more training time. The original Apollo 14 crew of Jim Lovell, Ken Mattingly, and Fred Haise became the prime crew for Apollo 13 instead.
The Apollo 13 accident resulted from an explosive failure of an oxygen tank after wiring insulation was damaged by overheating contents. Engineers redesigned the tanks with thermostats upgraded to handle proper voltage. A third tank was added in Bay 1 of the Service Module with a valve to isolate it during emergencies. Quantity probes inside each tank were changed from aluminum to stainless steel. Electrical wiring in Bay 4 received stainless steel sheathing to protect against future failures. Fuel cell oxygen supply valves were modified to isolate Teflon-coated wiring from oxygen sources. Mission Control monitoring systems gained immediate visual warnings for anomalies. An emergency water supply of 10 gallons was stored in the Command Module. An emergency battery identical to those powering the Lunar Module descent stage was placed in the Service Module. Anti-slosh baffles were installed in the Lunar Module propellant tanks to prevent premature low fuel lights. Structural changes accommodated equipment like the Modular Equipment Transporter for lunar surface operations.
Shepard stepped onto the Moon on the 5th of February 1971, stating, "And it's been a long way, but we're here." The first extravehicular activity began at 9:42 a.m. EST after a five-hour delay caused by communications system issues. Mitchell deployed geophone lines extending two kilometers from the ALSEP Central Station and fired thumper explosives to measure regolith depth. Of 21 thumpers, five failed to fire during the four-hour, 47-minute EVA. The ground proved undulating rather than flat as expected, complicating navigation toward Cone crater. Shepard and Mitchell overestimated distances traveled while moving the Modular Equipment Transporter handcart. They topped ridges expecting to see the crater rim only to find more terrain beyond. Mission Control monitored their heavy breathing and rapid heartbeats via telemetry data. Final analysis showed they came within approximately 30 meters of the crater's edge despite exhaustion. These difficulties highlighted the need for future transportation systems with advanced navigation capabilities.
Stuart Roosa spent nearly two days alone aboard the Command Module Kitty Hawk performing intensive scientific observations from lunar orbit. He used a Hasselblad camera to photograph Descartes Highlands after the Lunar Topographic Camera shutter developed a fault caused by aluminum contamination. Roosa photographed the impact point of Apollo 13's S-IVB stage near Lansburg B crater. He conducted astronomical photography of the Gegenschein phenomenon and tested theories regarding Lagrangian points. During his orbital period he performed bistatic radar experiments bouncing VHF and S-band transmitters off the Moon. Before launch Roosa took several hundred tree seeds on the flight which were germinated upon return to Earth. These seedlings became known as Moon trees and were distributed worldwide including to state forestry associations during the United States Bicentennial years of 1975 and 1976.
The Antares ascent stage lifted off from the Moon at 1:48:42 p.m. EST on the 6th of February 1971. Docking with Kitty Hawk occurred an hour and 47 minutes later despite concerns about early
mission docking problems. The crew transferred samples and equipment before jettisoning the ascent stage which impacted the Moon setting off seismic waves registered by existing seismometers. A trans-earth injection burn took place on February 6 at 8:39:04 p.m. taking 350.8 seconds. The command module splashed down in the South Pacific Ocean approximately south of American Samoa on the 9th of February 1971. Recovery by USS New Orleans transported the crew through Pago Pago International Airport and Honolulu to Ellington Air Force Base near Houston. They entered a Mobile Quarantine Facility trailer for transport to the Lunar Receiving Laboratory where they remained until release on the 27th of February 1971. These astronauts were the last lunar explorers to undergo quarantine procedures upon return from the Moon.
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Common questions
When did Apollo 14 launch from Kennedy Space Center?
Apollo 14 launched from Launch Complex 39-A at Kennedy Space Center on Sunday, the 31st of January 1971, at 4:03:02 p.m. EST.
Who were the crew members of Apollo 14 and what were their roles?
The crew consisted of Commander Alan Shepard, Command Module Pilot Stuart Roosa, and Lunar Module Pilot Edgar Mitchell.
Why was the original Apollo 14 schedule delayed to 1971?
The mission was delayed from its original 1970 schedule due to safety investigations into the Apollo 13 oxygen tank failure.
What specific changes were made to the spacecraft after the Apollo 13 accident?
Engineers redesigned tanks with thermostats upgraded to handle proper voltage and added a third tank in Bay 1 of the Service Module with a valve to isolate it during emergencies.
How old was Alan Shepard when he walked on the Moon during Apollo 14?
At age 47 during this mission, he was the oldest U.S. astronaut to fly and remains the oldest person to walk on the Moon.
When did the Apollo 14 command module splash down in the South Pacific Ocean?
The command module splashed down in the South Pacific Ocean approximately south of American Samoa on the 9th of February 1971.