Unbelievable Apollo 14 Facts That We Bet You Didn't Know

Apollo 14 was the third NASA mission to set foot on the moon.

NASA was supposed to launch the mission in 1970, but it was postponed due to the investigation of Apollo 13's failure to reach the moon's surface. The Apollo 14 mission lasted from January 31 to February 9, 1971.

On January 1971, the nine-day flight mission was launched from Earth and arrived on the moon on February 9. The Lunar Module (LM) landed in the Fra Mauro formation, which had been the intended target point for the Apollo 13 mission by NASA that ended in disaster. Roughly 94.3 lb (42.8 kg) of moon rock was obtained during the two treks on the moon's surface. Several experiments were carried out, including seismic studies. In addition, several hundred seeds were carried on the mission by Command Module Pilot Stuart Roosa, many of which were planted upon return, resulting in the so-called moon trees. Dr. Edgar Mitchell was the Lunar Module's pilot.

The Apollo 14 landing site was photographed by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in June 2009. The base of the lunar module and the footprints of the astronauts on the moon's surface were clearly visible. On February 9, 1971, the command module Kitty Hawk capsized in the South Pacific Ocean.

If you like reading about Apollo 14, you could also check out our other articles on Apollo 12 facts and Apollo 18 facts.

Apollo 14 Mission

The first EVA began at 9:42 a.m. EST (14:42 a.m. UTC), five hours after landing, due to a malfunction with the communications system. The duration of the second EVA was four hours, 34 minutes, and 41 seconds.

The primary goals of the mission were to explore the Fra Mauro region, which was centered on the , deployment of the Apollo Lunar Surface Scientific Experiments Package (ALSEP), lunar field geology investigations, collection of lunar surface material samples to bring back to Earth, deployment of other scientific instruments; orbital science involving high-res photography of candidate future landing sites, and photography of deep-space phenomena such as zodiacal light.

Two tests of the oxygen system were conducted during the trans-earth coast; the first was to ensure that the system would function properly with low oxygen densities in the tanks. The second was to operate the system at a high flow rate, as required for the two EVAs (in-flight) scheduled for Apollo 15 and later.

The crew of astronauts resided in quarters at the launch site, Florida's Kennedy Space Center (KSC), beginning 21 days before launch, with their only interaction being their spouses, the backup crew, and mission technicians.

Apollo 14 Crew

Commander Alan Shepard, a former military pilot, was the oldest Apollo astronaut at the age of 47. During his Freedom 7 mission on May 5, 1961, he became the first American in space. Before entering the Apollo program, he was Chief of the Astronaut Office from 1963 until 1969. In 1974, he left NASA to pursue humanitarian endeavors. On July 21, 1998, he passed away.

Edgar Mitchell, the pilot of the Lunar Module, began his career as a navy pilot before joining NASA in 1966. He continued to pursue his interest in the paranormal after departing in 1972, establishing the Institute for Noetic Sciences to research the human mind's metaphysical power, and made various pronouncements concerning UFOs before his death on February 4, 2016.

Stuart Roosa, Command Module Pilot. Before joining the Air Force, Roosa worked as a 'smokejumper,' or fast response firemen who parachute into wildfires. He was chosen as an astronaut back in 1966, although he only flew in orbit once, on Apollo 14. He later worked for NASA on the Space Shuttle program until 1976, when he retired. On December 12, 1994, he passed away.

What date did Apollo 14 land on the moon?

It was the first space mission of each astronaut, aside from Shepard's famous 15-minute suborbital flight. This was the second and last NASA spaceflight of Alan Shepard.

In February, Shepard and Mitchell landed in a mountainous upland region north of the Fra Mauro crater, a scientifically valuable site that had been the destination of the aborted Apollo 13 mission, only 175 ft (53 m) from their chosen landing spot on February 5, 1971. Kitty Hawk was lifted to a higher, circular orbit by Roosa, where he would perform a variety of tasks, including photographing the Descartes region, which would become the landing site for Apollo 16, and relaying observations of prominent lunar landmarks to improve landing accuracy on future missions.

Where did Apollo 14 land on the moon?

The landing site for Apollo 14 was significantly closer to the cone crater than the landing site for Apollo 13. The cone crater collision would have thrown up materials from considerably deeper than the surface, potentially allowing geologists to date the moon's creation.

With the possibility of the Apollo program being stopped at any time, Apollo 14 was re-scheduled to explore this scientifically crucial area. The significance of the place, on the other hand, was lost on Shepard and Mitchell, the two astronauts. Neither Mitchell nor Shepard was a geologist, and despite a crash course in rock identification; Shepard and Mitchell didn't develop an active interest in the subject.

Did You Know...

During the Apollo program's six successful lunar landing missions, a total of 12 American astronauts landed on the moon. The Apollo 14 launch was for the third manned trip to the moon.

The first manned vehicle to land on the moon was the Apollo 11 Lunar Module 'Eagle'.

With a makeshift club he carried, Commander Alan Shepard famously struck a golf ball on the lunar surface. In fact, Shepard struck not one golf ball but two golf balls.

842 lb (382 kg) of lunar samples from the surface were collected, including moon rock samples, core samples, pebbles, sand, and dust.

The lunar module pilot was Edgar D. Mitchell. Apollo 14 was in lunar orbit for 2.8 days, circled the Moon 34 times. On January 31, astronauts Commander Alan Shepard, Command Module Pilot Stuart Roosa, and Lunar Module Pilot Ed Mitchell began their nine-day mission.

Astronaut Roosa stayed in lunar orbit onboard the Command and Service Module, conducting experiments and clicking photographs of the moon. Roosa was alone on Kitty Hawk in lunar orbit for about two days.

The spacecraft was flown back to Earth after liftoff from the lunar surface and a successful docking, and the three men splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean on February 9.

The crew overcame difficulties on way to the lunar landing, which may have resulted in a second canceled mission and the premature end of the Apollo program.

Evans, McCandless, Fullerton, and Haise were the Mission Control personnel in charge of communications with the astronauts.

Apollo 14 spent 33.5 hours on the moon.

After being assigned to the mission, the crew of Apollo 14 trained together for 19 months, the longest of any Apollo crew to that point.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Apollo 14 facts then why not take a look at Apollo 15 facts or Apollo 1 facts.