Apollo 14

• COMMANDERAlan ShepardOne of the original Mercury Seven and the first American in space (Freedom 7, 1961). Grounded for years by Ménière’s disease of the inner ear, he returned to flight status after experimental surgery in 1968. At 47, on Apollo 14 he became the oldest American in space and the oldest person on the Moon.Open profile →
• COMMAND MODULE PILOTStuart RoosaA former smokejumper firefighter, later an Air Force fighter pilot. He spent almost two days alone in lunar orbit. He carried hundreds of tree seeds aboard, which grew into “Moon trees” distributed across the United States after his return.Open profile →
• LUNAR MODULE PILOTEdgar MitchellA U.S. Navy fighter pilot. With commander Shepard, he came within about 30 metres of Cone crater during the second moonwalk. During the trip home, without NASA’s knowledge, he conducted a private ESP experiment.Open profile →

Select a phase to read what happened. Every chapter has its own detailed page.

1. 01 · 31. ledna 1971A return after ten years — and a module that refused to dock
2. 02 · 5.–6. února 1971A false alarm, an unreached crater, and golf on the Moon
3. 03 · 6.–9. února 1971The last quarantine of the Apollo program

31. ledna 1971

A return after ten years — and a module that refused to dock

Commander Alan Shepard, the first American in space (1961), waited ten years for his second flight — grounded for years by an inner-ear disorder. At 47 he became the oldest American to fly in space, and later the oldest person to stand on the Moon.

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Crew

3

Launch

31. 1. 1971

Moon landing

5. 2. 1971

Landing site

Fra Mauro

Splashdown

9. 2. 1971

Launch vehicle

Saturn V (SA-509)

Call signs

Kitty Hawk / Antares

Samples returned

42,8 kg

1. 01Alan Shepard, the first American in space (1961), waited ten years for his second flight because of an inner-ear disorder.
2. 02Docking the command and lunar modules initially failed — had it failed completely, the landing would not have happened.
3. 03Shepard and Mitchell missed Cone crater by less than 30 metres, as later confirmed by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter images.
4. 04Shepard hit two golf balls one-handed on the Moon — the mission’s most famous moment.
5. 05Roosa carried hundreds of tree seeds aboard, which grew into “Moon trees” distributed across the United States.
6. 06Apollo 14 was the last mission requiring quarantine after returning from the Moon. Preflight medical isolation continued on subsequent missions.

• ProgramApollo
• ProgramApollo 13
• TopicApollo 15
• TopicSaturn V