Apollo 14 was the 8th crewed Apollo objective and the 3rd to arrive at the Moon. On January 31, 1971, Apollo 14 introduced from Kennedy Space Center with a team of leader Alan B. Shepard, command module pilot Stuart A. Roosa, and lunar module pilot Edgar D. Mitchell.
The team experienced obstacles in docking with the lunar module Antares and 6 efforts were needed prior to a “hard dock” was attained.
On February 5, 1971, Antares made the most exact landing to date in the sloping uplands of the Fra Mauro crater.
Shepard and Mitchell invested an overall of 33.5 hours on the Moon and carried out 2 extra-vehicular activities (EVAs, or “moonwalks”), amounting to 9 hours and 23 minutes. During the very first EVA, they released a number of science experiments. Among these was a reflector that continues to be utilized to determine the range from the Earth to the Moon. They likewise released a seismometer, which identified countless moonquakes and assisted to identify the structure of the Moon’s interior. Other instruments determined the structure of the solar wind and the Moon’s rare environment and plasma environment. Shepard and Mitchell gathered 95 pounds of lunar rock and soil samples.
The command module Kitty Hawk crashed securely on February 9, 1971, precisely 9 days and 2 minutes after launch. The objective period from liftoff to splashdown was 216 hours, 2 minutes.
Apollo 14 Mission Objective
The main goals of this objective were to check out the Fra Mauro area focused around implementation of the Apollo Lunar Surface Scientific Experiments Package, or ALSEP; lunar field geology examinations; collection of surface area product samples for go back to Earth; implementation of other clinical instruments not part of ALSEP; orbital science including high-resolution photography of prospect future landing websites; photography of deep-space phenomena, such as zodiacal light and gegenschein; interactions tests utilizing S-band and VHF signals to identify reflective residential or commercial properties of the lunar surface area; engineering and functional assessment of hardware and strategies; tests to identify variations in S-band signals; and photography of surface area information from 60 nautical miles in elevation.
Mission Highlights
Apollo 14 gone for 4: 03 p.m. EST. At around 3: 41 p.m. ground elapsed time, or GET, problems were experienced in docking with the lunar module, or LM, and 6 efforts were needed prior to a “hard dock” was attained. An in-flight televised examination of the docking system exposed no obvious factor for the breakdown and the system seemed working generally.
Prior to the powered descent initiation, or PDI, for the Antares landing, a brief in the LM computer system terminate switch was found, which might have activated an unwanted abort throughout the LM’s descent. On February 5, Antares made the most exact landing to date, around 87 feet from the targeted landing point. The landing point collaborates were 3 degrees, 40 minutes, 27 seconds south and 17 degrees, 27 minutes, 58 seconds west, midway in between the Doublet and Triplet craters in the sloping uplands of the Fra Mauro crater, and about 110 miles east of the Apollo 12 landing website.
Due to interactions system issues, the very first duration of additional car activity, or EVA, started practically one hour behind arranged with Commander Alan Shepard setting foot on the lunar surface area at 114 hours, 31 minutes GET. The initially of the 2 EVA durations consisted of ALSEP implementation and lasted 4 hours, 49 minutes.
The 2nd EVA on February 6 started when the LM egress hatch was opened at 4: 15 a.m. EST. During this EVA, Shepard and Edgar Mitchell moved majority a mile from their LM, carrying out selenological examinations, gathering samples and trying to reach the rim of Cone crater, around 300 feet above the landing website. NASA workers keeping track of the EVA quote that the 2 astronauts were within 50 to 75 meters of the crater rim when they were encouraged by objective control to gather samples at that area and start their traverse back to the LM. The 2nd EVA lasted 4 hours, 35 minutes, leading to a brand-new mark for EVA time by a lunar landing team: 9 hours, 24 minutes. Shepard set a brand-new distance-traveled record on the lunar surface area of around 9,000 feet.
During the 2 traverses, the astronauts gathered 94 pounds of rocks and soil for go back to Earth. The samples were arranged to go to 187 clinical groups in the United States, along with 14 other nations for research study and analysis.
Orbital science activities were carried out by Stuart Roosa throughout the lunar surface area activities duration. He experienced some problems with the high-resolution, motion-compensating Hycon Lunar Topographic Camera while trying to photo the Descartes location, the landing website prepared for Apollo 16.
The liftoff of Antares from the lunar surface area happened exactly on schedule. Rendezvous and docking took place just 2 minutes behind arranged. The command module Kitty Hawk crashed securely in the Pacific Ocean at 4: 05 p.m. EST February 9, precisely 9 days and 2 minutes after launch. The real landing point was just 1.02 nautical miles off its targeted point of about 765 nautical miles south of Samoa, and 4 miles from the prime healing ship, the USS New Orleans. The objective period from liftoff to splashdown was 216 hours, 2 minutes.
This is the Apollo 14 team spot developed by astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., leader; Stuart A. Roosa, command module pilot; and Edgar D. Mitchell, lunar module pilot. It includes the astronaut lapel pin approaching the moon and leaving a comet path from the liftoff point on Earth. Credit: NASA
Crew
Alan B. Shepard Jr., Commander
Edgar D. Mitchell, Lunar Module Pilot
Stuart A. Roosa, Command Module Pilot
Backup Crew
Eugene A. Cernan, Commander
Joe H. Engle, Lunar Module Pilot
Ronald E. Evans, Command Module Pilot
Payload
Kitty Hawk (CM-110)
Antares (LM-8)
Prelaunch Milestones
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
January 31, 1971; 4: 03 p.m. EDT
Launch Pad 39A
Saturn-V AS-509
High Bay 3
Mobile Launcher Platform-2
Firing Room 2
Orbit
Altitude: 118.55 miles
Inclination: 31.12 degrees
Orbits: 34 transformations
Duration: 9 days, 2 minutes
Distance: 1,150,321 miles
Lunar Location: Fra Mauro
Lunar Coordinates: 3.65 degrees south, 17.48 degrees west
Landing
February 9, 1971
Pacific Ocean
Recovery Ship: USS New Orleans
