Apollo 14

Apollo 14

Alan Shepard and the American flag on the Moon, Apollo 14, February 1971 (photo by Edgar Mitchell)
Mission type	Crewed lunar landing (H)
Operator	NASA[1]
COSPAR ID	CSM: 1971-008A[2] LM: 1971-008C[2]
SATCAT no.	CSM: 4900[3] LM: 4905[4]
Mission duration	9 days, 1 minute, 58 seconds
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Apollo CSM-110 Apollo LM-8
Manufacturer	CSM: North American Rockwell LM: Grumman
Launch mass	102,084 pounds (46,305 kg)
Landing mass	11,481 pounds (5,208 kg)
Crew
Crew size	3
Members	Alan B. Shepard Jr. Stuart A. Roosa Edgar D. Mitchell
Callsign	CSM: Kitty Hawk LM: Antares
Start of mission
Launch date	January 31, 1971, 21:03:02 (1971-01-31UTC21:03:02Z) UTC
Rocket	Saturn V SA-509
Launch site	Kennedy LC-39A
End of mission
Recovered by	USS New Orleans
Landing date	February 9, 1971, 21:05:00 (1971-02-09UTC21:06Z) UTC
Landing site	South Pacific Ocean 27°1′S 172°39′W / 27.017°S 172.650°W / -27.017; -172.650 (Apollo 14 splashdown)
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Selenocentric
Periselene altitude	16.9 kilometers (9.1 nmi)
Aposelene altitude	108.9 kilometers (58.8 nmi)
Period	120 minutes
Lunar orbiter
Spacecraft component	Command and service module
Orbital insertion	February 4, 1971, 06:59:42 UTC
Orbital departure	February 7, 1971, 01:39:04 UTC
Orbits	34
Lunar lander
Spacecraft component	Lunar module
Landing date	February 5, 1971, 09:18:11 UTC
Return launch	February 6, 1971, 18:48:42 UTC
Landing site	Fra Mauro 3°38′43″S 17°28′17″W / 3.64530°S 17.47136°W / -3.64530; -17.47136
Sample mass	42.80 kilograms (94.35 lb)
Surface EVAs	2
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 date	February 1, 1971, 01:57:58 UTC
Undocking date	February 5, 1971, 04:50:43 UTC
Docking with LM ascent stage
Docking date	February 6, 1971, 20:35:52 UTC
Undocking date	February 6, 1971, 22:48:00 UTC
Stuart Roosa, Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell Apollo program ← Apollo 13 Apollo 15 →

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.