Apollo 14

Apollo 14 (January 31 – February 9, 1971) was the eighth crewed mission in the United States <a href="/facts/Apollo_program/IC1Ek1Ao">Apollo program</a>, the third to <a href="/facts/Moon_landing/RMXHoEpg">land on the Moon</a>, and the first to land in the <a href="/facts/Geology_of_the_Moon/vhIu0V7k">lunar highlands</a>. It was the last of the "<a href="/facts/List_of_Apollo_missions/2oI52KsN">H missions</a>", landings at specific sites of scientific interest on the Moon for two-day stays with two lunar <a href="/facts/Extravehicular_activities/udj91j1E">extravehicular activities</a> (EVAs or moonwalks).
The mission was originally scheduled for 1970, but was postponed because of the investigation following the failure of <a href="/facts/Apollo_13/YfSNWC07">Apollo 13</a> to reach the Moon's surface, and the need for modifications to the spacecraft as a result. Commander <a href="/facts/Alan_Shepard/hS5AgMdu">Alan Shepard</a>, <a href="/facts/Command_Module_Pilot/SMmsDTLu">Command Module Pilot</a> <a href="/facts/Stuart_Roosa/tjgUx2Hp">Stuart Roosa</a>, and <a href="/facts/Lunar_Module_Pilot/SMmsDTLu">Lunar Module Pilot</a> <a href="/facts/Edgar_Mitchell/bnmrsV3s">Edgar Mitchell</a> launched on their nine-day mission on Sunday, January 31, 1971, at 4:03:02 p.m. <a href="/facts/Eastern_Time_Zone/jP4S8j1V">EST</a>. 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 <a href="/facts/Fra_Mauro_formation/PvzGoEdW">Fra Mauro formation</a> – originally the target of Apollo 13. During the two walks on the surface, they collected 94.35 pounds (42.80 kg) of <a href="/facts/Moon_rock/DMJbMMG1">Moon rocks</a> and deployed several <a href="/facts/Apollo_Lunar_Surface_Experiments_Package/TDJprc7B">scientific experiments</a>. To the dismay of some geologists, Shepard and Mitchell did not reach the rim of <a href="/facts/Cone_(crater)/I3cnyuGQ">Cone crater</a> as had been planned, though they came close. In Apollo 14's most famous event, Shepard hit two <a href="/facts/Golf_ball/1r2Y3CEb">golf balls</a> he had brought with him with a makeshift club.
While Shepard and Mitchell were on the surface, Roosa remained in <a href="/facts/Lunar_orbit/486BxvD6">lunar orbit</a> aboard the <a href="/facts/Command_and_Service_Module/rfoTgzFx">Command and Service Module</a>, performing scientific experiments and photographing the Moon, including the landing site of the future <a href="/facts/Apollo_16/XQY3CDnf">Apollo 16</a> mission. He took several hundred seeds on the mission, many of which were <a href="/facts/Germination/BdNz4TyV">germinated</a> on return, resulting in the so-called <a href="/facts/Moon_tree/zzhKU3n8">Moon trees</a>, 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 <a href="/facts/Pacific_Ocean/bdxgXRVM">Pacific Ocean</a> on February 9.

Apollo 14 open-in-new

Apollo 14