apollo 14 - science at fra mauro

8/8/2019 Apollo 14 - Science at Fra Mauro

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Tire tracks, drawn across the barren lunarsurface, trace the path the astronauts walkedwith their two-wheel pull-cart from their landingcraft, Antares, into the Fra Mauro foothillstoward Doublet Crater.

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I t was the morning of a new day on theMoon. The Sun w as hanging low in thesky, about 20 degrees above the horizon.Long, inky shadows contrasted sharp lywith the glar ing brightness of l ightedlunar surfaces whe re no atm osphereexists to refract the rays.Astronauts Alan B. Shepard, Jr. andEdgar D . Mi tchel l were cl imbing asteepening s lope; thei r maps indicatedthey we re approaching thei r dest inat ion,the r im of Cone Crater where rocks mayhave remained unchanged s ince t imebegan. Here might be found scienti f ictreasures holding clues to the birth anddevelopment of the neighborhood of theuniverse of which the Earth is a part.

"You know we haven' t reached ther im yet ," said Apol lo 14 Com mande rShepard. " I 'm not sure that was Flank(Crater) we were in a m inute ago either,"repl ied A stronaut Mitchel l . Wait a m inute.The r im 's r ight here . . . That 's theeast shoulder running down from Cone.That's Flank over there. We're going tohit i t on the s outh side."Pinpointing a major diff iculty, Mitchellhad ear l ier commented: "You can sure bedeceived by slopes here. The Sun ang le isvery deceiving."Walk ing on the Moon is easy becausemen and thei r backpacks weigh onlyone-sixth as much as they do on E arth.But uphi l l movement in a bulky space suitl imits mobil i ty and can be exhausting.The rhythmic sounds of the astronauts 'breathing was p icked up by the bu i l t- inmicrophones o f their helmets and co uldbe hea rd a quarter of a m il lion miles(400,000 ki lometers) away at M issionControl in Houston, Texas. Also hearingit were mil l ions of radio l isteners an dtelevision viewers on every continent.Really got a pretty steep slope here,"said Shepard."Yeah, w e kind of f igured that fromlistening to you," cam e a reply fromAstronaut CAPCOM Fred W. Haise atMission Control. (CAPCOM is the capsulecomm unicator, an astronaut assigned tocarry on the conversation betweenMission Control and the Moo nexplorers.)Another CAPCO M at M ission Control ,Astronaut Ronald Evans, was talkingwi th the th ird Apol lo 14 crew mem ber,Astronaut Stuart A . Roosa, f lying inMoon orb i t in "Ki t ty Haw k," the main

Apollo spacecraft. He was wait ing forShepard a nd M i tchell to complete thei rMoon explorat ion and return to theKitty Hawk.Every so often, the men turned theirheads back toward Antares, the lunarmod ule moon landing craf t or LM, toassure the ms elves i t was sti l l in their l ineof sight. It stood abo ut one-half mile (800meters) behind them at the bot tom of theslope, parked on a sl ight incl ine. ForAntares was their home and base stationdur ing their p lanned 3 3 1 / 2 hour stay on theMoon. An tares would also serve asthei r launch pad and thei r spacecraf tfor the f irst lap of their return journeyto Earth.

"I can stop and rest here for a minute,"said Shepard."Okay, let me pul l, " answered Mi tchel l.He w as referr ing to the two-wheeledpul l-car t , the m odular ized equipmenttransporter or MET, especial ly designedfor the Apollo 14 Moon expedit ion. Theastronauts variously nicknamed the l i tt lealuminum veh ic le " rickshaw, " "wheel-barrow," and "caddy car t ," and Shepardand M itchell took turns pull ing it. On itwere geo logical tools, cameras andscienti f ic instruments. Scientists hadprovided the men the best equipmentmod ern technology could of fer.When S hepard and M i tchel l reached thetop of the ridge they thought to be ConeCrater, thei r d isappointment w ascomm unicated to Mission Control andtheir television and radio audience.The first hint of disi l lusionment camefrom Mitchell."Oh b oy," he said as he g ot his f irstlook above the ridge. "We got fooled onthat one."Shepard explained what had happened ."Our positions are all in doubt now,"he began, "What we were looking at wasFlank . . . the top of i t wasn't the r im o fCone. We've got a way to go yet. 'On the crater-pocked lunar surfacewith its low g ravitational pull, i tsunfamiliar l ighting conditions, and itslack of convent ional landm arks, mapsare hard to interpret and di rectionsdifficult to follow, and the a stronautshad underest imated the distance anddifficulties of the terrain toward ConeCrater.At a m oni tor ing conso le at MissionContro l , space phy sic ians traced


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Apollo 14 EVA Map

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Hammer and small rock collection bag, placedatop these lunar boulders by Apollo 14astronauts, provide perspective for assessingthe boulders' size.

CAPCOM Haise relayed a message fromYeah, Al and Ed," he said, They

The human body consumes more

now. Shepard's suit waslow cooling rate. But physicians

More than two hours had elapsed since

Keeping up with that schedule wascomplete

now were.Far overhead, at an altitude of about 60

Stuart A. Roosa was carrying

ty Hawk he was taking pictures of thewhich

These future flights will bring a

vier equipmentmassive quantities of Moonpredecessors.

Roosa, too, was aiming radar beams toEarth and a set of identical beams at theMoon so that scientists on Earth couldcompare the Moon-aimed beams, afterthey were reflected by the Moon andbounced to Earth, with those aimeddirectly at Earth. From the comparisons.scientists hoped to learn much about theMoon's surface properties, and also abeL.layers below the surface. The experimentwas called Bistatic Radar."

Roosa also aimed radio signals at theMoon to determine more accurately thecontours and heights of lunar mountainsand hills.

That experiment with an "S-Bandtransponder" requires analysis ofreflected radio beams which also giveclues to variations in lunar gravity.These variations are believed to be causedby mass concentrations, called'mascons," of certain materials below theMoon's surface.

Even while Roosa was engaged incharting the Moon, his colleagues onthe lunar surface were illustrating theimportance to astronauts of accurateand complete maps of the regions nearlanding sites.

Cone Crater, by the best estimates theastronauts could make from their maps,was still a good 30-minute walk and thisday they had learned that their own bestestimates relating to Moon distanceswere not particularly reliable.

"I don't think we'll have time to go upthere," said Shepard. Even at Moondistance, listeners on Earth could sensea tone of sadness and reluctance in hisvoice.

Oh, let's give it a whirl," pleadedMitchell. "Gee whiz. We can't stop withoutlooking into Cone Crater."

Shepard was not yet convinced. 1think we'll waste an awful lot of timetraveling and not do much documenting,"he said.

The word documenting was a referenceto photographing and describing rocksand their location before and after pickingthem up for examination by scientists onEarth. This was one of the major tasksscientists hoped the astronauts wouldaccomplish in the Cone Crater area andat various prescribed locations on theirreturn walk to Antares.

CAPCOM Haise interrupted theMoon walkers' discussion. "Okay, Al

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Untouched by man or any other form of life untilApollo 14 arrived, this once obscure region inhe universe will now be known as the

site of man's third Moon landing.


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From samples chipped from rocks like this byApollo 14 astronauts, sc ientists will attempt totrace the history of the solar system.

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His long, dark shadow silhouetted against thelunar surface, Apollo 14 commander Shepardtook this photograph of Fra Mauro boulderfield. Note geological tools atop center rock.

location is andis they'd

Mission Control was asking theng Con e rim.Shepard was ready to concur and said

"I think wha t we re looking at r ight here,stuff that'sThe ancient materials they sought at

eteroid struck itons of years ago. Shepard knew thatatapultedMission Control suggested the men

ld not l ike to be without the toolsed on the ME T."Well, we're three-quarters there,""Okay," said Shepard, "We'l l press on aher. Houston, ke ep your eye onHe w anted Mission Control to keep him

Mitchell could safely stay outside

Mitchell couldoriginally a l lotted.Shepard became more cheerfu l ."I want to tell you, it's a fantastic view

the rugged boulder f ield toi l l be to go to the westent i t from there even

ell, we're pushing out in that"Roger, Al," the CAPCO M

Again Mission Control suggestedET at least unti l the

with the MET, we nee d these tools. 'Shepard concurred. "No, the MET'snot slowing us dow n, Houston. It 's just aquestion of t ime. W e'l l get there."They didn't. As they threaded their waythrough the forest of boulders collect ingrock sam ples and dictating theirobservations to Houston, the 30 minutes ofextended Moon wa lk time soonevaporated.Surrounded by automobile-sizeboulders taller than they som e 10 to 12feet (three to 3.6 m eters) in heightShepard and M itchell stopped. They hadarrived at a point at which M itchell wasto measure the M oon's magn etic f ield.From the portable magnetometer on theMET , Mitchell pulled a 50-foot(15 meter) cable to which was attached asensor. He posit ioned the sensor abovethe site selected for measurem ent and ashe had done once before during the trek,read off the delicate instrument's dialdisplays.Physicians at Mission Control notedthat the rate of Shepard's heart beat hadslowed to 108 per minute and M itchell 'sto 86. The difference was due m ostlyto Shepard's harder work with scoops andtongs for gathering rocks w hile Mitchell wasrestowing the magnetometer sensor.Shepard carefully deposited his samples innumbered plastic bags so that scientistswould later know the exact location and thecircumstances of s election for each of ther o c k s ."All right," Shepard began one of histypical geological descript ions. "I wouldsay, Houston, that most of these bouldersare the same brow nish grey that we'vefound, but we see one that is definitelyalmost white in color, a ve ry definited i f ference in co lor w hich we' l l document.We noted this beneath this dark brownishregolith (mantlerock overlying solid rocklayers), there is a very l ight brown layerand I think we'l l get core tube right hereto show that. As a ma tter of fact, I thinkI ' l l do that right now."Shepard m et resistance, perhaps rockor compacted so i l , as he sank the coretube into the ground. The material provedto be so granular that most of it fell out ofthe tube. Astronauts are trained to betalkative during such explorationsbecause scientists want to have completedescriptions of how sam ples werecol lected. S hepard dut i fu l ly cont inued his

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Looking atone of the countless craters aheadof him, Mitchell surveys the desolation of atypical lunar scene. Backpack contains oxygenfor breathing and water for the space suit'stemperature control system.


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commentary .Now I 'm sam pl ing a layer that is sortof l ight gray just under the regol i th withbag num ber n ine, and bag numbe r tenwi th a sample o f som e of the surfacerocks that were r ight around that area."Fina l ly , the CAPC OM broke in to theast ronauts ' busy chat ter . "To get us ba ckon the old t ime l ine (schedule) here, whenyou depart C ( the ir s ta t ion a t the t ime)we'd l ike yo u to proceed di rectly to F,Weird (a po in t near We i rd Crater sodesignated on the ast ronauts ' Moo nma p dur ing preparat ions for the f l ight)En route you can m ake grab samples asyou see fit.""Grab samples" are randomly selectedwi thout at tem pts at com pletedocumentat ion.The men w ere now on the i r way back toAntares.Frequent ly , sc ient is ts at M ission C ont ro lasked quest ions of the a st ronauts whichwere t ransm i tted to them through theCAPC OM . Once the sc ient is ts wanted toknow whe ther Shepard not iced any duston top o f the rocks. Another t ime, theyasked h im to compa re the var iousboulders . The astronauts had been g ivengeology t ra in ing for just such purposes.This k ind of "team explorat ion" by ast ronauts on the Mo on an d scient is tson Ear th has becom e standard procedurein manned M oon landing missions.Shepa rd and Mi tchel l worked thei r waypast W ei rd Crater. East o f Tr ip le t CraterShepard dug a smal l t rench." I 'm doing t renc hing. I t 's going fa i r lyeasi ly, but I need the extension handle(of the t rench ing tool , which is e ssent ia l lya sm al l shovel) to get deepe r, to edgethrough that . I 'm cut t ing into a r im of acrater which is approx imately, oh, say s ixmeters (20 feet) in diameter."The CAPC OM re layed a quest ion by thescientists.

"How deep did you get down?"Shepa rd expla ined. "W el l , the t rench isabout a foot an d a half deep. I gave upactual ly no t because i t was hard d igging,but because the walls kept fal l ing in onit."They passed through another boulderf ie ld and then past Nor th Crater back toAntares. The ast ronauts were coming backinto the field of view of the color televisioncame ra they had set up near Antares and

TV viewers throughout the wo r ld couldsee them m ove on the lunar surface muchl ike two wiggl ing man-shaped whi te blobs.Even w i th color transm ission, the Moonpictures were m ore a cont rast between thedarkness of the sky, the Sun-drenchedlunar sur face, the ref lect ive a st ronautsuits and stark shadows.Though the a st ronauts car r ied out thei rtasks in businessl ike, earnest fashion,there eme rged sporadic inc idents ofhumo r as, for example, when the m enaccidental ly knocked the TV cam era over .As She pard was turning i t upr ight again,he wondered whether the camera wa s putout o f comm ission."Fred," he sa id to CAPC OM Haise,"We're going to ha ve a rea l pract icalproblem here probably be ab le to seewhat the lunar dust does to a cam era lens.Do yo u see an yth ing a t a l l?"Haise looked at the large TV screen onthe front wal l of the M ission C ont ro l room ,then assured Shep ard. "Yeah," he said," I th ink i t 's a be t ter p ic ture. Luna r dusthelps the TV picture, I guess."Shepard could not suppress a hea r tylaugh. "Okay," he sa id. "W e' l l see to i tthat a l i t t le TV lens w il l get dusted in thefuture."But Shepard took no chance of leavingthe most surpr is ing and hum orousepisode of the mission to coinc idence.Just before reenter ing Antares, Shepardremo ved gol f bal ls f rom his Mo on sui t .Using the detached handle from one o fthe geo log ica l imp lements he swung -and m issed. To m ake sure h is tor ianswould never do ubt who wa s the f i rs t gol feron the Moon , Shepard took two more on e-hand swings. (The bulky Moon sui tprevented Shepard from plac ing his armsclose eno ugh together to gr ip the handlewith both hands.) He sent the bal lssoar ing above the Moon's sur face whereno atmosphere exists and there is l i t t legravi tational at t ract ion to s low them ."There i t goes," he gloated, "mi les andmiles and miles."Later, on the re turn fl ight towa rdEarth, he estimated that the f i rst bal l waspropel led 200 yards (180 meters), and thesecond 400 yards (360 m eters).Mitchel l c l imb ed f i rs t in to An tares andShepard handed h im the 51 poun ds (23k i logram s) of collected Moon rocks an dsoi l. Among them were the largest Moo npieces ever brought to Earth . Some were

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. ..-.". i' . -Large boulders like this one were abundant onthe lunar surface. Apollo 14 brought back toEarth the largest and greatest variety of Moonsamples ever seen by scientists.L(ill


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of grapefruit or bowling ball size.Shepard joined him inside the craft andthey closed the hatch. The two m en hadinscribed themselves on the pa ges ofhistory.That second Moo n excursion had takenthe men on a longer traverse across theMoon than any previous one-3,300 feet(one kilometer) from Antares, comparedwith the 200 feet (60 meters) the Apollo 11astronauts had walked from their landingcraft, and the 1,400 feet (420 m eters) theApollo 12 crew had gone. That secondexcursion also had added four hours and35 minutes to Shepard's Moon walk timewhich now totaled near ly 9 1 / 2 hoursanew record for one person . Mitchell, whohad left Antares a few minutes afterShepard and returned a few minutesahead of him on each walk,was a closesecond in time spent on the lunarsurface outside a spa cecraft. Together, themen had accumulated nearly 19 man-hours of 'ext ravehicular act iv i ty" or"EVA" on the Moon and, thus almostdoubled the lunar EVA time of astronautsto nearly 40 man-hours.The total of about 95 pounds (43ki lograms) of Moon rock and soi l broughtback to Earth by Apollo 14 also was arecord. Apollo 11 came back with 46pounds (21 kilograms), and Apollo 12retr ieved 75 pounds (34 kilograms).The m ajor goal of Apollo 14 was thescientific exploration of the M oon in thefoothil ls of the rugged Fra M auro region.The astronauts had set down in thatregion at 4:18 (Eastern Standard Time)on the mo rning of Friday, February 5,to a pinpoint touchdown only eighty-sevenfeet (26 m eters) north of the target pointmapped ou t for them.Six hours and 35 minutes after theirarr ival, Shepard and Mitchell openedthe hatch of the Antares, stepped outonto the surface of the Moon, conductedscientific experiments and set u p anautom ated scientif ic laboratory calledALSEP (Apollo Lunar ScientificExperiments Package).The instruments began transmittinginformation to Earth, almost at once, tothe delight of scientists. Within hoursof these first transmissions, some ofthe principal investigators explainedtails at press conferences; T hey

being received and showed how it wasbeing used to determine the Moon'sstructure and physical properties and toanalyze the radiations on its surface.The scientists said Apollo 14's ALSEPinstruments w ere the best ever taken tothe Moon, and there was every reason tobelieve the instruments would continuetransmissions for at least a year, whichthey were designed to do.In one ALSE P experiment, Mitchellused a "thumper" to send shock wavest raveling through the Mo on's upperlayers for detection by sensors whichreported the vibrations back to Earth.That first Moon walk was going so wellthat Mission Control allowed theastronauts to extend it beyond theoriginally planned four ho urs and15 m inutes. The extension permitted theastronauts to expand their Moon rockcollection to 44 pounds (20 kilograms) andto add st il l more panoram ic photographsand stereo closeup pictures of Moonsurface features.Whe n the astronauts crawled back intoAntares and closed its hatch four hoursand 50 m inutes after they had opened it,they had achieved a new endurancerecord for cont inuous M oon w alk ing.After eating and resting, they begantheir second Moon walk which eventuallyset a record for distance with theirgeological traverse toward C one C rater.Apollo 14 was the world's 40th mannedspace fl ight, the 24 th for the UnitedStates It was history's third successfulmanned Moon landing mission, the firstin the decade of the 197 0's. The missionbrought to nearly 200 the man-hoursastronauts have l ived on the surface ofthe Moon and to more than 6,910 the man-hours astronauts have lived in space. Itis an amount equal to o ne man l ivingin space for months, 17 days and 22hours.

Astronaut Roosa in the commandmodule completed 3 4 1 / 2 revolutionsaround the Moon, thus bringing to 150the num ber of lunar orbits flown bymanned space craft. (10 by Apollo 8 inDecember 1 968; 31 by Apollo 10 inMay 1 969;3Oby Apol lo l l in July 1969;and 45 by Apollo 12 in November 1969.)Shepard, who turned 47 years old onNovem ber 15, 1970. became the oldest;r-


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person to land on the Moon. He an dMitchell , who became 40 on September17, 1970, we re the f i f th and sixth persons ,respectively, to walk on the Moo n.The continuous telecasts, lastingseveral hours during each o f the twoApollo 14 Moon walks, were the f irstsignif icant lunar scenes to be transmittedto Earth in color, live from the Mo on.Though the Apol lo 12 LM carr ied a colortelevision camera, i t ceased functioningafter only a few m inutes' use whendirect sunlight entered the lens an dsinged vital components. When it ceasedfunctioning, i ts sole transmissions hadconsisted of showing one of theastronauts descending the LM ladder. Toprevent any recurrence of similar damage,the Apol lo 14 color TV camera wasdesigned to w i thstand accidentalexposure to di rect sunl ight , and also wa soutfi tted with lens caps for use whilethe astronauts moved the camera.I t provided color t ransmission f rom themoment i t was act ivated w hi le Shepardwas descending Antares ' boardingladder for the f irst Moon walk unti l afterthe second Moon walk when the camera'spower connect ion to the LM w asintentionally severed before theastronauts' l i ftoff.Apollo 14, with i ts prime aim ofexplor ing the Moon 's Fra Mauroregion a virtual lunar geologicalmuseum was in a sense a search intothe past. If scientists can unrav el nature'scoded messages from the retr ieved FraMauro rocks, and t race f rom them theevolution of the Moon, or even the Earthand the en tire solar system, Ap ol lo 14would stand as the culminat ion of oneof man kind's pr imeval ambit ions.But, equal ly, Apol lo 14 was a thrust intothe future. The fl ight was the last ofwhat space engineers have designated as"H" missions. That series is now to befol lowed by the "J" missions wi th asubstantial ly advanc ed stay capa city onthe Moon. The J series landing crafthave enlarged prop el lant tanks, anaddit ional battery, more l i fe supportsupplies, and provisions for the Rover.Each of the three planned J m issions,Apol lo 15 through 17 later in 1971 and in1972, is designed to al low a pair ofastronauts to spend three separate Moonwalk periods of up to seven hours each onthe lunar surface, thus more than

doubl ing the m ission exploration t imefor each astronaut over that whichShepard and M itchel l could obtain. Al lMoo n f l ight crews unt i l now haveexpressed regret that their equipmentl imited their stay t ime on the lunarsurface and their conviction that theycould have com pleted addi t ional researchtasks i f they had been al lowed toremain longer outs ide the space craf t .As an engineering achievement,Apol lo 14 mad e a profound con tr ibut ionto the advancem ent of space explorationand lunar science. This wa s particularlyempha sized by the techniques wi th whichthe astronauts and technical personnelworked together as an Earth-space team.Across distances stretching tens ofthousands of miles, the Moon travelersand ground crews exchanged informat ionand developed so lut ions and cou nter-actions to overcome a va riety oftechnical i r regular it ies and engineer ingproblems.Long before the f l ight of Apollo 14,the mission's launch date and the nam e ofi ts comm ander were al ready key imprintsin the annals of space exp loration.

Detonating small explosive charges as he walks,Astronaut Mitchell imparts slight shocks tothe Moon's surface with a "thumper." Theshocks are recorded by three sensors thathad been implanted along the route.

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By coincidence, Apollo 14's launchdate, January 31, 1971 fel l on the 13thanniversary of the launching of America'sf i rst Earth satel l i te. I t was on Janu ary 31,1958, that a 68.6-foot (20.5 meter) tallJupiter-C rocket raised itself off its padat Cape Cana veral ( later renamed CapeKennedy), Florida, carrying the Explorer Isatellite, a bullet-shaped capsule.Though a p ortion of the rocket rema inedattached to Explorer I as it went intoorbit, the combined orbit ing assemblysti ll measured only 80 inches (203centimeters) in length and weighed only30.8 pounds (13.86 ki lograms).In contrast, A pollo 14 injected itself intoEarth orbit weighing about 300,00 0pounds (135,0 00 ki lograms, including theattached third stage (S IVB) rocket, thusbecoming the heaviest man-madeobject in Earth orbit nearly 10,000times as mu ch as that f i rst U.S. orbiter.Likewise, Apollo 14 Comm anderShepard was known before his Moonfl ight for his pioneering efforts in spac e.He w as the f irst Ame rican to f ly throughspace.That f i rst fl ight on May 5 , 1961 - n early10 years before Apollo 14 lasted only15 minutes and 22 seconds froml i ftoff at Cape Cana veral to splashdownin the Atlantic Oce an only 302 m iles(486 ki lometers) away. The f l ight wascal led "suborbita l" because S hepard'scraft, Freedom 7, w as not inserted intoorbit, but was instead, deliberatelyboosted into an arc-l ike path that reachedi ts peak at an alt itude of 116.5 miles (187.5kilometers) before beginning its descentand re-entry into the atmosphere.Shepard's top speed in Freedom 7 was5,180 m iles (8,288 ki lometers) an hour. Hewas w eightless for only f ive minutes.In contrast, Apollo 14 acceleratedShepard and his two crewmen to a peakspeed of about 24,000 miles (38,000kilometers) an hour during the early boostphase toward the M oon and just beforere-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. Themen w ere weightless for several days. TheSaturn V launch vehicle that l if ted themfrom the Earth w as sufficiently powerfulto inject 60 of the one-m an Mercurycapsules into Earth orbit simultaneously.The Apo llo 14 spacecraft alone, minus theSaturn V, weighed nearly one and one-halft imes as much as Shepard's combinedMercury capsule and the Redstone rocket

that l i f ted him into space o n his f irst f l ight.The Ap ollo 14 craft was on ly two feet(60 centimeters) shorter than Shepard'sfirst rocket and spacec raft combined.Primitive as Shepa rds f irst f light seemsby today's standards, i t gave newconfidence and inspiration to the thenfledgling U.S. space program. Shepard'sdetailed descriptions gave the w orld i tsfirst eye witness account of the view of theEarth from space and of the sensationsand reactions and impressions generatedby such a journey.Shepa rd's f l ight served notice on theworld that the United States wasdetermined to achieve preeminence inspace. President Kennedy de l ivered amajor address on space exploration to theCongress on Ma y 25, 1961 - less than threeweeks after the Shepard m ission. ThePresident suggested that the United Statesset i tself as a n ational goal the attainmentof a manned M oon landing before the endof the 1960 's. That presidential address hasbecome accepted by historians as thebeginning of the program w hich led to theApollo 14 fl ight. Thus it might be said thatShepard has no w com e ful l circle in theAmerican space exploration program.Even before Apollo 14's Moon landing,valuable scientific data emerged from thejourney. The spacecraft was b ehind theMoon, out o f t rack ing and com municat ionscontact with Earth, and the astronauts hadjust slowed the craft to insert i t into Moo norbit. At that t ime, 2 :41 in the m orning ofThursday, February 4, Eastern StandardTime, the uppermost portion of the SaturnV rocket, the S IVB stage, col l ided w iththe Moon, as i t was programmed to do.By propell ing the Apollo spacecraft outof Earth orbit into a Moon trajectory, theS IVB had also boosted i tself on a M ooncourse and, by remo te control, wassteered on a lunar coll ision course. Theforce of the impact equalled thedetonation of 11 tons of TNT. The M oonreacted l ike a gong. For about three hoursit vibrated and these vibrations traveled toa depth of from 22 to 2 5 miles (35 to 40kilometers). The concussions w eresensed by a Moonquake detector, a

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That tentative opinion was strengthened

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anding craft whichBy radio command from Mission

explosion of about 1,600minutes.

Mauro region.Scientists pointed out that in this kind of

tation, one plus one equals

The LM ascent stage struck at a point

station and about 71 miles (114 kilometers)southwest of the Apollo 12 station. TheMoon's reaction followed what hasbecome known from previous similarimpacts as characteristic lunar behavior:The reverberations built up to acrescendo, then gradually decayed.

Dr. Gary Latham, the principalinvestigator for the Passive SeismicExperiment, said this behavior still bafflesscientists who have found no counterparton Earth.

The current interpretation of theunusual reaction is that the impact forcewas widely scattered by the Moon'sstructure.

Dr. Latham explained: "In my opinion,it means very likely, that the structure hasbeen essentially pulverized by continuousmeteorite bombardment since formation4.6 billion years ago or so, and that atleast the upper few kilometers are very,very broken up material."

The scientists measured the time fromthe impact to the moment the first shockwaves were sensed at each station. Thesize of the interval indicates to theinvestigators the kind of material throughwhich the seismic waves travel. Dr. Lathamsaid this analysis leads the scientists tobelieve the same kinds of materialsretrieved by astronauts from the surfaceextend to a depth of about 22 to 25 miles(35 to 40 kilometers).

As for the recovery by astronauts ofigneous rocks (those which have solidifiedafter melting as from lava flow),Dr. Latham said some of the rocks wereapparently thrown onto the surface aftermeteorite impacts gouged them out fromdeep inside the Moon's interior. Also, hesaid there is evidence of melting thatoccurred about a million years after theMoon's formation - or about 3.3 to 3.6billion years agoand scientists theorizethis melting occurred from heat escapingfrom radioactive decay deep inside theMoon.The scientists were eagerly lookingforward to the occurrence of the firstnatural Moonquake to be recorded bytheir new network and toward theestablishment of a third network station byApollo 15 in mid-1971.

The Apollo 14 seismometer, like Apollo12's, was part of an automated scientificlaboratory set up by the astronauts on theMoon. Aside from rock collecting, nearly

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shows

ifI

ilk I'Grenade auncner in foreground was instaiieaon Moon by Apollo 14 astronauts to be activatedfrom Earth, later in 1971. Impact of its fourmissiles will be sensed by automatic devices.

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the entire first Moon walk period of Apollo14 was taken up by establishing a robotlaboratory called ALSEP, meaning ApolloLunar Scientific Experiment Package. Theseismometer and most of the otherexperiments in that package weredesigned to continue operation for at leastone year after the astronauts' departurefrom the Moon. A small nuclear powergenerator in ALSEP is providing thenecessary electricity for operating theinstruments, the heaters that keep themwarm during the cold two-week-longlunar night and the automated radiotransmitter that relays information toEarth. After Shepard and Mitchell installedthe array and turned on the power, signalswere immediately received by scientistsat Mission Control.

The most spectacular ALSEPexperiment, however, did not involvesuch long-duration accumulation andtransmission of data. It was what scientistscall the "active seismic experiment" andit consisted of small explosions set off onthe Moon so that sensing devices couldmeasure the resulting small vibrations asthey traveled through and below the lunarsurface.One part of this active seismicexperiment consisted of a "thumper,"a device resembling a large diameterwalking stick. A plate at its bottom wasdesigned to strike the Moon each timeMitchell pulled a lever at 15-foot (4.5-meter) intervals as he walked with thedevice. Only 13 of the thumper's 21charges went off. But the scientists weresatisfied. Vibration detectors, called'geophones," which Mitchell had earlierlaid out on a cable at 150-foot (45-meter)intervals, recorded the seismic waves.Scientists who received the signals saidthey were sufficient for the purposes of theexperiment.

The other part of the active seismicexperiment is a grenade launcher. Mitchellset it up so that it faced away from theworking and excursion area. Later in 1971scientists will activate it by remote controlso that each of the four grenades it holdswill be thrown to detonate at a differentdistance-500 feet (150 meters), 1,000 feet(300 meters), 3,000 feet (900 meters) and5,000 feet (1,500 meters)from thelauncher. Again, the sensors are to pickup the vibrations for transmission to Earthfrom ALSEP's central radio station.

Also connected to that central stationare the other ALSEP experiments:"Charged Particle Lunar EnvironmentExperiment" (CPLEE), "Cold CathodeIonization Gauge" (CCIG), "SuprathermalIon Detector" (SIDE) and the "Lunar DustCollector."

Dr. Brian O'Brien, a physicist from theUniversity of Sydney and principal CPLEEinvestigator, explained his machine'sstatus. "The experiment has been workingabsolutely perfectly to date," he declared."Just after it was switched on theexperiment was apparently immersed in asea of low energy electrons that weassociate with the comet-like tail blownback by the solar wind."

He was referring to the Earth's magneticfield which sweeps trapped particlesthrough space somewhat like a comet'stail. But the Sun's solar wind blows theseparticles so that the tail becomes curvedor distorted. The CPLEE is designed tomeasure electrons and protons and otheratomic particles that bombard the Moonfrom space. In this way, the CPLEE is astep toward answering the perplexingquestions about the workings of theEarth's magnetic environment or, asscientists call it, the Earth'smagnetospheric system. Dr. O'Brien saidhis experiment also detected particleswhich appeared remarkably similar tothose found in auroras, the Northernand Southern Lights. These celestialphenomena caused by electrified particlesin space, have puzzled men throughthe ages, and scientists today still cannotfully explain the source of theirprodigious energies.Dr. O'Brien's co-investigator, Dr. DavidReasoner, a physicist of Rice University inHouston, Texas, monitored the CPLEEduring the ascent stage's crash on theMoon. He said the impact vaporized rocksand dust. Sunlight, unobstructed by anyatmosphere, acted on the vapor so as tobreak up its atoms and produce chargedatomic particles, ions and electrons.Within 50 seconds of the ascent stageimpact, Dr. Reasoner noted that theinstrument's counts of electrons and ionssuddenly increased tremendously, thendipped and increased again beforereturning to the original "normal" rate.

Dr. Reasoner explains his findings bytheorizing that two clouds of particles,generated and impelled by the ascent


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Panoramic view shows instruments of ALSEPautomated laboratory in a circular array.Astronaut Mitchell returns to the landing craftafter arranging them. Fra Mauro highlandsregion was selected as Apollo 14 landing sitebecause some rocks there are believed to haveremained unchanged since the Moon and therest of the solar system were formed.


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On a desert-like strip of land in the UnitedStates, Apollo 14 commander Shepard pulls alunar cart and leads fellow astronauts duringpreparations for their corning Moonexploration.

W1k.

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M

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Changes in Apollo 14 spacecraft to avert arecurrence of the Apollo 13 mishap areindicated in diagram.

various debriefings

s or even severa lThe unusual character and liberal

scientific raw material

The crewShepard, Mitchell andwas selected in August 1969, just

manned Moon

led for October 1970.was to be the Moon's

But the outcome of Apollo 13 in April0 profoundly affected Apollo 14 plans.

date to November0. The postponement was later

Scientists were regretful that the Apollo

considered it one of the mostof view. Thus, Apollo 14's

The mission wasMoon landingsby Apollo 11 and

had been in the relatively flat lunaria. From a pilot's point of

, landings there were easier than in

To lessen the possibility of any

on insulation covering wiring in the

oxygen in the tanks were notthey were removed. The fans

ere believed to have been instrumentalexplosion. To enhance the

ap

should take place, an extra oxygen tankwas installed, plus an extra 135-pound (61kilogram) silver-zinc emergency battery,plus five one-gallon (3.8 liter) bagsholding an extra supply of 20 pounds (ninekilograms) of drinking water. These extrafacilities would be sufficient to see theastronauts through on a three-day returntrip to Earth if the prime supplies shouldagain be destroyed near the Moon. Theastronauts used the extra weeks toaugment their training. Shepard andMitchell each spent more than 300 hourspracticing walking on the Moon byrepeatedly going through their intendedlunar surface activities on simulatedMoon surfaces and in desert areaswhich resemble the Moon's terrain.Roosa had nearly 1,000 hours of practiceflight in the Apollo command and servicemodule simulator. He rehearsed his flightin Moon orbit while his colleagues wouldbe on the Moon's surface. These and othertraining activities frequently doubled orexceeded the time spent in similaractivities by the earlier Moon landingcrews. The Apollo 14 astronauts schooledthemselves far more thoroughly than hadany of their predecessors in contingencyprocedures. They practiced alternatemethods and rescue techniques foralmost every conceivable emergency.In past flights, crews usually had tofollow cram schedules in the last weeksbefore liftoff to complete all of the desiredtraining programs. The Apollo 14 crewused its extra time wisely, and its pref lightschedule was far less congested. Atlaunch time the crew probably was themost rested and relaxed ever sent to theMoon.An estimated half million persons werein or near the John F. Kennedy SpaceCenter in Florida when the timeapproached for the launch. Most of themwere tourists or residents from the areawho gathered outside the Kennedy SpaceCenter. Among the tourists were entirefamilies who came from great distancesand pitched tents or lived in housetrailers. For them a launch to the Moonwas a sight to be remembered and talkedabout forever. Inside the Center, thenumber of official visitors was at a recordhigh. Among the special guests wereVice President Agnew, and Their RoyalHighnesses, Prince Juan Carlos andPrincess Sophia of Spain. A total of 2,355

H E A T E R D I S P L A Y SAC 10UANTI1Y 4 P f l S S U E E )

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P A N E L

1 O W 1 1W A T E R R A G-CHING S T O W A G E

Partly suspended,uspended. Apollo 14 commanderShepard familiarizes himself with the one-sixthof normal gravity on the Moon by using alow-gravity simulator during training.

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Spectators watch Apollo 14 disappear intolow cloud layers. Rain delayed the launch 40minutes.

-.The Moon is the next stop for Apollo 14 as itrises off launch pad 39A at 4:03 p.m., EasternStandard Time, Sunday, January 31, 1971.

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had passed by the time Roosa made asixth attempt at docking, a procedurewhich ordinarily takes less than one-halfhour. This time, on the advice of theHouston engineers, he closed in slowly,then fired his craft's small thrusters, givingit a sudden forward jolt. At the same time,he retracted the probe. As the dockingcollar of his craft met the matchingcomponent of the landing craft, thelatches finally sprang into place.

This solved the problem for the moment,but left the mission in a state of suspense.Docking would have to be done oncemore, at a critical time. Later, whenShepard and Mitchell would return fromthe Moon in the Antares, they and Roosawould once again have to connect thelanding craft and the mother ship.Should the docking mechanism thenfail to work, Shepard and Mitchell couldnot reenter the main spacecraft throughthe interior tunnel between the twomodules in the normal manner. However,in such an emergency, they could leaveAntares through a hatch, walk" throughspace, and then enter Kitty Hawk throughits hatch. Such a transfer, however, hasnever been tried in Moon orbit, thoughastronauts have "walked" through spacebetween vehicles orbiting the Earth duringthe two-man Gemini flights in 1965 and1966.

During the three and one-half-dayjourney toward the Moon, the Apollo 14crew was often so uncommunicative thatCAPCOMs at Mission Control sometimesstarted talking because, as one of themphrased it, he 'just wanted to see if you allwere still around."

But it could hardly have been boredomthat kept the crew so quiet. Shepard andMitchell entered Antares through theinterior tunnel to power it up and give it afinal check before it would have to beginits crucial task of landing them on theMoon and bringing them back to KittyHawk. During that test, an indicator on amonitor panel at Mission Control showeda reading for one of Antares' batteries tobe three-tenths of a volt below normal.The battery was one of two in Antares'ascent stage, the upper portion, in whichthe astronauts lift themselves from theMoon's surface to return to Kitty Hawkafter completing their Moon walks.Though one battery is sufficient for thatjob, Mission Control would not have given

a go-ahead for a Moon landing withoutthe backup battery also functioningproperly. Experts feared a leakage mighthave developed in Antares' complexelectrical circuitry. While the astronautscontinued their flight schedule with aplanned 10-hour rest and sleep period,Mission Control assessed the situation,and decided not to awaken the crew. Butafter the rest period, Mitchell was orderedto return into Antares for an on-the-scenebattery check, and he found the batteryshowed no further deterioration. It wouldbe able to provide the required power.

In all previous manned lunar flights, themain Apollo craft has come no closer than70 miles (112 kilometers) to the Moon'ssurface. At that altitude, the Moon landingcraft detached itself from the mainspacecraft to begin its descent to its lunarlanding site.

A different approach was madedesirable for Apollo 14 by the hilly terrainat the intended Fra Mauro landing site.During their first passage on the far sideof the Moon, the astronauts fired theircraft's main engine, the service propulsionsystem (SPS) for six minutes and 12seconds to slow their craft sufficiently sothat it inserted itself into an elliptical Moonorbit 70 miles (112 kilometers) at its lowestpoint (pericynthion) and about 193 miles(310 kilometers) at its highest altitude(apocynthion). This was identical to theprocedure used on previous missions.After two such orbits, a short burst by themain engine decelerated the craft stillmore to lower its orbital path to as closeas 50,000 feet (15 kilometers) above theMoon at the lowest point and about 70miles (112 kilometers) at the highest. Thatorbital change-over maneuver is known as"descent orbit insertion" or DOl, and itbrought the Apollo main craftthecommand and service modulescloserto the Moon than it had ever been. In thatlower orbit, Apollo 14 was clearing thehighest peaks of the Moon's mountainranges by only about seven miles (11kilometers). Though Mitchell later saidthat his first look at the Moon from thatheight was for him one of the emotionallymost touching experiences of the journey,Roosa seemed less impressed.

Many months of training in simulatorshad accustomed Roosa to the scene sothoroughly that the real thing appearedquite familiar.

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--1 ' ' '- - - -.- ----

- . --- -

- --- . --. . -Or.

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V.,il l _ _ 4iI44."Its a beautiful day in the land of Era Mauro,"rom lunar orbit, the Apollo 14 crewsaid Apollo 14 commander Shepard. Beyondhotographed these Moon scenes.the crater-pocked horizon rises Earth, a thincrescent against the backdrop of a velvety sky.


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Fm moving around, getting familiar with thesurface, said Shepard moments after hestepped on the Moon while Mitchell took thisphoto from the landing craft.

In the dawn of the lunar day. Antares Cast longshadows and reflected the Sun in a way thatappeared to the astronauts as a circular flarewhich they described as jewel-like."

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Beside the U.S. flag at Era Mauro Base. Shepardis surrounded by shadows. The one in front isfrom Mitchell who took this picture. Theshadow at left is from Antares, and the one atright from the umbrella-like S-band antenna.

a believe this," heke the m ap."idcourse correc-s m ade on the way to the M oon,inutes lost

chedule originallyacecraft to this lowerng Antares proceed from in

extra operating capacity.this addit ional capability m ay

point in the targetpermittedhile the spacecraft remained in that

Mitchell crawled once againo Antares. Roos a

as receiving a warning signals abort mechanism. T heed to reactsignal by init iatingthat would abort the landings abort seq uence, the intorbit for reunion with Kitty Haw k

The defect w as traced to the faultyignition, Mission C ontrol hasti lyputer's

out a solution to circumv ent theitchelluter's keyboard inside Antares four

e time to lose. Te chnicians v erified the

Then the numbers w ere read to Mitchellfrom Mission Control. He managed tocom plete the entries within the crit icalperiod. If he had missed, the astronautswould have had to keep A ntares in Moonorbit for another two-hour revolution andthen start anew to make the necessaryadjustments. Twenty-six seconds afterengine ignition, Shepard took m anualcontrol of the engine throttle to overridethe automatic computer program.Mitchell, as directed by Mission Control,entered three m ore sets of instructionsinto the guidance comp uter. Thisstraightened out that problem.But as Antares swooped closer andcloser to the Moon, the on-boardlanding radar, which controls the descentrate by continuously measuring thedecreasing alt itude, failed to lock on tothe lunar surface. This was to have begunat an altitude of about 30,000 feet (9,000meters). Mission C ontrol instructedMitchell to keep fl icking a circuit breakeron and off. That did not seem to helpuntil the altitude had shrunk to 22,713feet (6,923 meters). The radar finallysprang to life. Mitchell's sigh of reliefcould be heard around the Earth. "W hew,"he said. "That was close."These incidents were among severalwhich il lustrated the advan tage of mannedspacecraft. Men can monitor andsupersede machine decisions.The rest of the descent and landingcould not have been better. Antares cameto rest on an 8 0 slope. The slope's anglewas too sm all to cause any anxiety overthe craft 's possibly toppling over, or tomake its takeoff hazardous.Mean while, from his lofty perch in K ittyHaw k, Roosa could clearly see the locationof Antares."It just showed up as a white spot,obviously something foreign to the lunarsurface reflecting l ight," recalled Ro osalater. "The first day I tracked it while theSun angle w as still pretty low and youcould see the shadow and thereflection . . . You c ouldn't see a shap eof the LM as such, but with no doubt, theLM w as there." He said on the next day,when the Sun w as higher in the Moon'ssky, the shadow diminished, but he couldsee a glint reflecting also from the ALS EP .Shepard and M itchell donned theirMoon suits and were nearly ready to leaveAntares for their first steps in this strangeworld, when S hepard noticed that his

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Mitchel l adjusts the color te levis ion cam era ital lowed millions of viewers throughout theworld to share the ex plorat ion wi th astronauts250,000 miles (400,000 ki lometers) away.

un i c a t ions s y s t em b u i lthe l m e t and b ac k p ac k f o ri th M i s s ion C o n t r o l andl w h i le w a l k i ng on t he M oon w as

on w i th eng ineers a tShepa rd and M i tche l ldow n t ha t p r ob lem t o a c i r c u itver ten t l y been le f tpos i t ion .ng la te r than sch edu led on the f i r s tw a l k , S hep a r d and M i t c he lled the m to fa l l s t i ll fa r ther beh indime l ine . " The S-band an tennaed to s tand p rope r l y . When unfo lded, i tumbre l la and i t is

i ss ions o fs ion, vo ice and da ta . Moon d us tnnoy ing too as i t c lung to theothes and gear . Wh i leng up ALSEP, Mo on dus tren t l y go t in to and c logge d a fas tenerl Ion De tec tor . Theon Gau ge repe ated l yover a s Mi tche l l t r ied to steady i t onined in h ighs and in exce l len t phy s ica l cond i t ion .nd coo l ing f lu id supp l ies

he astron auts w ere able top le te a l l o f the i r ass igned taskshey c raw led back in to Antares .

ou t fi ts ag a i n . E ag e r t o c on t inuethey beg an the i roon w a l k p e r i od tw o hou r sthan sche du led . Accord ing to thean , t ha t s ec ond M oon w a l k w aslmost en t i re ly to the longCra ter . Thed te r ra in s lowed the men , and aga iny sk ipp ing two p lannedMi tche l l were ab le to

p le te a l l ass igned tasks fo r theoon w a l k ex c ep t one . They f e l lC ra ter 's r im .n o rb i t ,i tc he l l u s ed a new t im e andsav ing p rocedure fo r ach iev ingzvous ( fo rmat ion f li gh t ) and. That techn ique, known as a-o rb it rend ezvous , " was deve lope dr ac t ic ed du r ing t he t w o - m an s e r iesin i f li gh ts in 1965 and 1966 . But the

t ec hn iq ue had no t b een us ed on M oonmiss ions u n t i l Apo l lo 14 because o f i tscomp lex i t y .The f i rs t o rb it rendezvou s techn iqueb r oug h t A n t a r es and K i tt y H aw k t og e t he rin about two h ours ins tead o f the usua lfour o r f i ve hours requ i red fo r them a neuv e r . T h i s t im e , doc k i ng oc c u r r ednorm al l y on the f i r s t tr y . Exper ts a tM iss ion Cont ro l sa id they suspe c t somecon tam ina t ion , poss ib ly i ce tha t f o rmedon the spa cecra f t , m igh t hav e been thec aus e o f t he ea r l ie r doc k i ng p r ob lem . T heysa id the cause m ay never be de term ined,but whatever i t was, i t apparen t ly ha ddisappeared.A f te r c ra w l i n g t h ro u gh t h e c o n n e c t i n g

tunne l fo r the las t t ime an d t rans fer r ingt he c on t a i ne r s w i t h t he i r tr eas u r ed M oonrocks and va r ious equ ipment , theas t ronauts bade fa rewe l l to the i r loya lAntares and jet t isoned i t . I t wasSatu rday , Februa ry 6 . The th ree m en,now ba ck toge ther in K i t ty Haw k, ign i tedthe i r ma in eng ine to speed the c ra f t ou t o fM oon o r b it and on t o a p a t h b ac k t ow a r dEarth.On Sund ay ev en ing , February 7 , in thenext- to- las t of the ir e ight co lor te lecastsf rom s p ac e , t he as t r onau t s c onduc t ed as e r ies o f f ou r eng i nee r i ng dem ons t r a ti ons .They w ere des igned to tes t the behav io r o ff lu ids and gase s in zero-g rav i t y . Theresu l ts o f the tes ts cou ld u l timate l y l eadt o t h e m a n u f a ctu re o f go o d s w h i c h c a n n o tbe p roduce d in the Ear th ' s g rav i t y . Thus,the Ap o l lo 14 in - fl igh t d em ons t ra t ionscou ld tu rn ou t to be p r im i t ive fo re runnersof fac to r ies ins ide la rge orb i ti ng spa ces ta t ions , in wh ich v a luab le p roduc tss t am p ed "m a de i n s p ac e" c ou l d b ema nufac tured fo r use on Ear th .One o f the dem onst ra t ions tes ted thecas t ing o f meta ls in we igh t lessnes s . Whenmo l ten m eta ls a re m ixed on Ea r th , theheav i e r c om p on en t s o f t he m i x t u re t endto se t t le tow ard the bot tom . Thedem ons t r a ti on w as a i m ed a t s how i ngwhe ther , unde r the ze ro -grav i ty con d i t ionsof space, i t may be poss ib le to cas t a lmostany m ix tu re o f me ta ls per fec t l y even l y .I f th i s shou ld p rove to be po ss ib le , newal loys cou ld eve ntua l l y be fo rm ula ted ins p ac e s om e p e r hap s w i th t he s t r eng t hof s tee l , ye t w i th the we igh t o f cork thatw ou l d b e i m p os s i b le t o p r oduc e on E a r t hwhere w e igh t lessness can be ach ievedfor on l y a few s econd s a t a t ime .

. dTl-. :---"- .:--_ - . .'- ._-',_*,-ke

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and other surface

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Removing and assembling a tool from thepull-cart, Shepard prepares a geologicalexperiment. He and Mitchell made mans firstvisit to the Moon since the Apollo 12 astronautswere there in November 1969.

-- - -----. --'- - -. -._ -I I

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Ip- v,1l,. i . . . The various mixtures which theastronauts tested were contained in 18sealed capsules which the astronautsheated and then allowed to cool. Afterheating, the astronauts shook and turnedsome of the capsules several times. Someof the specimens included crystal andfiber-strengthened materials. Theoutcome of the experiments are now beingdetermined by scientists and engineerswho are examining the capsule contentsin their laboratories.A similar demonstration on heat flowand convection under zero-gravityconditions involved different coloredliquids representing various gases. OnEarth, hot air (or other gases) rise above

cooler air because heating causes a gas tobecome less dense and, therefore,lighter. The demonstration was aimed atfinding out whether heating in spacetakes place evenly and uniformly.

Still another demonstration dealt with aprocess known as electrophoreticseparation. It is widely used to separatebiological components in the manufactureof vaccines and medicines. A test wasconducted to see whether suchseparations in space would be useful inproducing medicines and vaccines fasterand with greater purity.The final demonstration pertained to thetransfer of fluids between containerssuch as fuels from one tank to another inweightlessness. Because liquids tend tostay close to container walls inweightlessness, drawing them out fortransfer to an engine, or for other use,presents problems unknown under normalconditions on Earth. The astronauts useda small pump to transfer small quantitiesof liquids between containers in whichvarious configurations of baffles weretested for their influence on the liquids'distribution inside the tanks. Thedemonstration could influence designs oflarge semi-permanent space stations ofthe future. All four of the experiments areexpected to form the basis of furtherin-space tests, including some in Skylab,the prototype space station that is to belaunched early in 1973.

Roosa, who had been explaining thedemonstrations during the telecast, wasready to end the program. "I guess that'sabout all from our zero-gravity lab onApollo 14," he said. Then he added whatcould become a prophetic declaration."We hope this is the beginning of bigger

and better things in the way of spacemanufacturing processes, and I believeAl has got some words here."

Shepard took over to conclude theprogram with a serious statement aboutthe value of space exploration and a pleafor world peace. "I just wanted to say acouple of words before we signed offtonight," Shepard began. "What we'vebeen talking about among the three of uswhen we were setting up theseexperiments was the contribution thiscan make immediately and directly toAmerican lives and the lives of peoplearound the world. For example, if,specifically, these manufacturingprocesses turned out to be better in thespace environment, or the vaccines whichare proposed to be developed in aweightless condition can be usedeffectively, then this type of an operationin Skylab can become immediatelybeneficial to the people of the UnitedStates and the people of the world.

"As a matter of fact, one of the thingswe're talking about in connection withthe tremendous achievements of thespace program so far are its con-tributions particularly in the field ofcommunications. For example, right now,I'm sure this broadcast is going directlyoverseas to millions of people who areseeing it in their homes through satellites,and I think many people have said that thisimprovement in communication throughthe space satellite will certainly go a longway in solving the problems of the world,problems of understanding betweenpeoples of different countries.

"We are reminded, however, as we lookat that shimmering crescent which is theEarth, on our way back, that there is stillfighting going on. It is our wish tonightthat we can in some way contributethrough our efforts in the space programto promote a better understanding ofpeace throughout the world, and helprectify these situations which still exist."

"With that thought, for Ed and Stu andmyself, I will say goodnight to you fromApollo 14."

For Shepard and his crew, the flight ofApollo l4 was acolossal personal triumph.For all three of the men the flight fulfillsa nearly life-long ambition. Shepard is thesenior in age and length of service in thecadre of 49 active astronauts now intraining in the United States. He was thefirst to fly in space of the "Original

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Original Seven' astronauts.Apollo 14 Commander Alan B Shepard, Jr.

I le! MAID

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'k- - ' : ' '

folded raft is thrown from a hoveringelicopter to a frogman attaching the flotationollar around the command module. Astronautsre still inside.

___5_-

lo w

- .--5.

-p.' --- -.:- -.--- ,-_------. - S-.d&1

- :a-- - ..,...........- '-:.--.

42

Orange and white parachutes collapse as thecraft hits the water. Thus, the journey of ninedays and two minutes ended at 4:05 p.m.,Eastern Standard Time, Tuesday, February 9,1971.


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'IN

^ 4 ) 0 1 r 'U4A M

mand M odule P i lo t S tuar t A . Roosa

du le P i lo t Edgar D . M i tche l l

S even " the s even m en w ho i n A p r i l1959 were ch ose n fo r tr a i n i ng fo r spacef li gh t . Now, he has a l so becom e the l as to f t ha t o r i g i na l g rou p t o f ly i n space . Theo t he r s a r e no l onge r i n t he space p r og r amexcep t Don a ld K . (De ke) S lay ton , whoho l ds a key adm i n is t ra t iv e j ob and i s no ti n spac e f l igh t t r a i n i ng .One o f the t a l l es t o f t he as t r on au t s( fi ve f ee t , 11 i nche s -180 cen t ime te rs ) ,Shepa rd , a n a t i ve o f Ea s t De r ry , NewHam psh i r e , rep rese n t s h i s fam i ly ' s e i gh thgen era t i on i n t ha t s t a t e . A f te r h i s f i rs tspace f li gh t , She pa r d was t o be ass i gneda s C o m m a n d e r o f a t w o -m a n G e m i n im i ss i on , bu t he becam e i ll w it h an ea ri n fe c t ion , k nown as M en i e r e ' s Sy nd r ome ,wh i ch caused h i m d i z zi ness , nausea ando t he r d i s com fo r ts . The cond i ti on was sosevere t ha t phys ic i ans r e fus ed t o ce r t ifyt he fo rm er t es t p i l o t even fo r f l yi ngconv en t ia l a i rc r a f t un l e ss a ccom pan i edby ano ther p i lo t . He accep ted a de sk job ,coo rd ina t i ng ac t i v it i es o f o the r as t ron au tsBy Ma y, 1968, Shepa rd wa s nea r l y dea fi n h i s le f t ea r , in wh i ch h e had a con s tan th u m m i n g s o u n d . H e u n d e r w e n t s u rg e r ywh i ch i n se r t ed a r ubbe r t ube i n to t hei nner ea r t o r e l ieve f l u id p ressu re . Theope r a t ion r e s t o r ed h i s hea l t h , and hewas r e i n s t a ted t o a s t r onau t f li g h t s t a t u sin 1969.I t was no t d i ff icu l t t o g ras p t heem o t iona l ov e r tones o f Shepa r d ' s fi rs tword s a f t e r he l owere d h i s l e f t l eg f r omt he l and i ng c r a f t 's f oo t pad and h i s boo tt ouched t he M oon . "I t' s been a l ong wa y ,"he sa i d . "Bu t , we ' r e here . "M i t che ll , who ea r ned a Ph . D . deg r ee i nae r onau t ic s and as t r onau t ic s a tMa ssachu se t t s In s t it u t e o f Techno l ogy ,and Ro osa, who , li ke h is co l l eague s , is afo rme r t es t p il o t , m ade t he i r fi r s t spacef li gh t on A po l l o 14. Bo th have be en i nas t r ona u t t r a in i ng s i nc e A pr il 1966,On the i r l as t fu l l day in spac e, Mo nda y ,Februa ry 8 , the A po l lo 14 c rew rev i ewedand asse ssed t he ep i c f li gh t in a t e l ev i sedp r ess con f e r ence f r om t he space c r a f twh i l e i t was s t i ll s l igh t l y mo re t han 100,000m i les (160,000 ki lom ete r s ) f rom Ea r t h andspeed i ng towa rd Ea r th a t a ra te o f 3 ,681m i les (5 ,924 ki lom e te rs ) an h ou r .The as t r onau t s appea r ed r e l axed andsound ed chee r f u l and p l eased abou tt he i r j ou r ney 's a cco m p li shme n t s . Them en t ook tu r ns answ e r i ng ques t ionsp o s e d b y n e w s m e n w h o h a d b e e n

fo ll ow i ng t he f li g h t a t t he M ann edSpac ecra f t Ce n te r in Hous ton , Texas .The ques t ions w ere r ead t o t he A po l lo 14c r ew by as t r onau t Go r don Fu l le r t on ac t i nga s C A P C O M.She pa r d and M i t che l l s a i d , in an swe r t oa que s t i on , tha t t hey be l i eve t ha t on t hese cond o f t h e ir two h i s t o r ic M oon w a l ksthey were 100 to 150 yards (90 to 135m et e r s ) f rom t he r im o f Cone C r a t e r .(La te r , exper ts f r om the U.S . Geo log i ca lSu rvey de te rm ined i n t he i r ana lys i s o f t heMo on wa l k tha t t he men had p r obab l ycom e to w i th in 25 to 50 me te rs -82 to164 feet of the r im.)"G iven an o ther 30 o r 40 m inu tes , It h ink we cou l d ha v e r eached t he t opof Con e C ra te r , covered a l l o f ou rob j ec t iv es and go t t en back i n goodf ash ion , " sa id M i t che l l.She pa r d b r oke in . "We l l, le t me add o neth i ng he re , " he sa i d . "I th i nk i f we h adwan t ed t o r each t he t op o f the c r a t e r anddo no t h i ng e l se , we cou l d hav e done t ha tw i t h i n t he a l l o t ted t im e per i od . Bu t It h i nk tha t t h i s me t hod i n wh i ch wer ev e r ted t o c o l le c t i ng r o cks f r om a po i n tno t qu i t e near t he t op o f the c ra te rp r ov ided a l o t mo r e geo l og i ca l ly and g av eus be t te r c r o s s s e c t io n o f t h e r o cksi n tha t a rea . To us i t was jus t a m a t te r o fwor k i ng aga i n s t t he c l o ck . I th i nk we h adthe capa b i li ty to go l on ge r fr om thes tandpo i n t o f f a t igue I don ' t be l ieve wewere d i so r i en ted o r l os t a t any t ime a t a l l. "Roo sa , a l so in answe r to a ques t ion ,sa i d t ha t desp i te a b r oken ca me r a , hebe l ieves he wa s ab le t o ob ta i n good s te reopho t og r aphy o f cand i da t e land i ng s i te sf o r fu t u r e Apo l l o m i s s ions a nd o f o t he ra rea s o f par t icu l a r sc i en t i fi c in t e res t ont h e M oon .I t was h i s t o ry' s secon d i n -space p resscon fe rence . The f ir s t had been he ld by theApo l l o 12 as t r onau t s i n Novem ber 1969whi l e t hey were on t he i r way back to E ar t ha f te r h is t o r y' s second m anned M oonland ing . The A po l lo 13 c rew never go ta rou nd to the i r p lanned i n - fl igh t p resscon fe r ence . The men we r e kep t too busydu r i ng t he r e t u r n t end i ng t o t he i r sev e r e l ydam aged c r a f t a f te r t he exp l os ion t ha tp r ev en ted a M oon l and i ng a t t emp t .On Tue sday , Feb rua ry 9 , the Apo l l o 14space cra f t a r r ived i n t he v i c in i t y o f theEa r t h . A f te r j e t ti son i ng t he supp ly andequ i pmen t - c a r r yi n g s e r v i c e m odu l e , wh i c hwas now n o l onge r needed , t he c r ew

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h. L

Wearing masks to prevent possiblecontamination from the Moon, Apollo 14astronauts walk from the helicopter to MobileQuarantine Facility (MQF) aboard the recoveryship USS New O rleans.

- N W A F W" 4411111H I ;

Il l

the chutes flared open, and when thecraft hit the water.

Even before the crucial re-entrymaneuvers began, while flight controllersand officials were tensely watching themonitoring consoles and listening to theground-to-space conversations with theastronauts, workmen quietly movedthrough the control room with a ladder.They raised it against the control roomwall. At the moment of splashdown, aworkman atop the ladder hung the Apollo14 emblem on a hook that had beenattached before the mission began, nextto the emblems of the previous Apolloflights.

How well Mission Control was preparedfor a safe return of Apollo 14 became evenmore apparent when the astronautsstepped from the recovery helicopter tothe Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) inwhich they were to begin their return toHouston. The projection of the worldmap, which takes up most of the controlroom's front wall to show the location ofthe spacecraft during a mission, wasturned off.

In its place appeared the projection of afour-color poster reading WelcomeHome, Kitty Hawk."

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Major Events in the Apollo 14 Mission

C E T *Dateim eh r .(1971)EST)m.) EventsJan. 31:03 p.m. -eather-delayed but flawless launch.6:37 p.m. 2:34ocket ignit ion to leave Earth orbit and head for Moon.Feb. 10:39 p.m. 30:36ransfer maneuv er for better init ial loop of Moo n.Howe ver, this precluded unpow ered return to Earth.Feb. 42 :00 am. 82:37ocket ignit ion to slow dow n Apollo 14 so that it wouldgo into orbit around M oon.2:41 a. m. 83:18pper rocket stage of S aturn V strikes Moon. M oonvibrates for three hours after impact.6:14 am. 86:51ocket ignit ion to place perilune of Apo llo 14 within50,00 0 feet of Moon, the closest that a complete Apollospaceship has ever come.11:51 p.m. 104:28eparation of Kitty Hawk and Antares.Feb. 5:05 am. 108:42ntares landing rocket ignites.4:17 a.m. 108:54ntares lands in Fra Mauro region of Moon-340 S.Lat . x 17'28 'W. Long.

9:50 a.m. 114:27hepard egresses from Antares to be followed short lyby M itchell. Am ong activit ies are g athering of geologicalspecimens (rocks), sett ing up scientif ic instruments,sett ing up Am erican flag, and placing and turning on TVcameras. EVA: 4:50.Feb. 6:11 am. 131:48alk about three miles, collect ing geological sam ples.Nearly reach the r im of Cone Crater. EVA: 4:35 .1:49 p.m. 142:26ntares rockets from M oon.3:35 p.m. 144:12i t ty Hawk and Antares are docked. M ating was directrather than Antares f irst going into lunar o rbit as lunarmod ules did on prior Apollo missions.5:48 p.m. 146:25ntares is set ad rift.7:45 p.m. 148:22ntares strikes Moon, as planned.8:39 p.m. 149:16i t ty Haw k ignites rocket to break out of lunar o rbit andhead for home.Feb. 9:05 p.m. 216:42i t ty Hawk splashes down in P acific Ocean south ofSamoa.*At 54 hours an d 57 minutes into the flight of Apollo 14, the ground elapse d t ime(GET) clock was m oved ahead 40 m inutes. Thus, the EST con version of subsequentGET will be 40 m inutes earlier than straight conversion of the GE T. The actual EST t imesof the events are listed.Landing Si te Named for MonkFra M auro, the landing site of Apollo 14,is named fora 15 th century Italian monkand cartographer. A map that he drew in1457 showed the geography of Africa andAsia more accurately than earlier mapsand was considered the greatestexpression of Renaissance map making.He also drew Moon maps.

Or ig in of S pacecraft Nam esThe com mand spacecraft of Apollo 14was called Kitty Hawk because as theastronauts put it : 'That's where it allstarted." Kitty Hawk is a com mun ity inNorth Carolina where the Americanaviat ion pioneers, the W right brothers,first dem onstrated powered fl ight by manearly in this century. The lunar m odulewas nam ed Antares for the star on whichthe landing craft oriented itself as itheaded down to the Fra M auro region ofthe Moon.

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ce Fl ights

Flight Time Revo- SpacecraftDateHrs: Mm: lutions Name RemarksS e c )5/5/610:15:22 Sub- Freedom Am erica's f irst manned space f l ight.

orbital7/21/610:15:37 Sub- Liberty Bell 7 Evaluated spacecraft functions.orbital2/20/624:55:23 3 Fr ie nd sh ip 7 Ame r ica' s f ir st man ne d o rb it al spa ceflight.5/24/624:56:05 3 Aurora 7 Initiated research experiments tofurther future space efforts.

alter M. S chirra, Jr. 10/3/629:13:11 6 Sigma 7 D eveloped techniques and proceduresapplicable to extended time in space.5/15-16/634:19:49 22 Faith 7 Met the final objective of the Mercuryprogram spending one day in space.

3/23/654:52:31 3 Gem ini 3 Am erica's f irst two-m an space f l ight.ivitt 6/3-7/657:56:12 62 Gem ini 4 First "walk in space" by an A mericanhite, II astronaut. First extensive maneuverof spacecraft by pilot.8/21-29/6590:55:14 120 Gemini 5 Eight day f l ight proved m an's capacityfor sustained functioning in spaceenvironment.12/4-18/6530:35:01 20 6 G e m in i 7 W o r ld 's lo ng es t m a nn ed o rb ita l flig ht.ell, Jr.alter M. S chirra, Jr. 12/15-16/655:51:24 16 Gemini 6A World's first successful spaceas P. Stafford rendezvous.strong 3/16-17/660:41:26 6.5 Gemini 8 First docking of two vehicles in space.. Scottas P. Stafford 6/3-6/662:20:50 45 Gem ini 9A Three rendezv ous of a spacecraft and atarget vehicle. Ex travehicularexercise-2 hours 7 minutes.7/18-21/660:46:39 43 Gem ini 10 First use of target vehicle as source of

oll ins propellant power after docking. N ewalti tude record-475 miles.9/12-15/661:17:08 44 Gemini 11 First rendezvous and docking in init ialorbit. First mult iple dock ing in space.First formation flight of two spacevehicles joined by a tether. Highestmanned orbitapogee about 853miles.. Lovell, Jr. 11/11-15/664:34:31 59 Gemini 12 Astronaut walked and work ed outsideldrin, Jr. of orbiting spacecraft for more than5 1 /2 hoursa record proving that aproperly equipped and prepared mancan function effectively outside of

his space vehicle. First photograph of asolar eclipse from space.

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Flight Time Revo- SpacecraftDateHrs: Mm: lut ions Name RemarksS e c )l ter H. S chir ra 10/11-22/6860:8:45 163 Apo l lo 7 First manned Apollo f l ightdemonstrated the spacecraft , crew andsupport elements. All performed asrequired.

12/21-27/6847:00:41 10 rev. Apol lo 8 History's f irst manne d f l ight to the. Lovell, Jr. of Moon vicinity of another celest ial body.am A ndersDivi tt 3/3-13/6941:00:53 1 5 1 Apol lo 9 First all-up m anned A po llo f light (withSaturn V and comm and, service, andlunar modules). First Apo llo EVA. Firstdocking of CSM w ith LM.s P. Staf ford 5/18-26/6992:03:23 31 rev. Apo l lo 10 Ap ol lo LM descended to within 9 mi les

o f Moon of Mo on and later rejoined CSM . Firstrehearsa l in lunar environment.st rong 7/16-24/6995:18:35 30 rev. Apo llo 11 First landing of men on the Mo on. TotalColl ins of Moon stay time: 21 hrs., 36 mm .ldrin, Jr. 11/14-24/6944:36:25 45 rev. Ap ol lo 12 Second m anned explorat ion of theo f Moon Moo n. Total stay time: 31 hrs. 31 mm.. Lovell, Jr. 4/11-17/7042:54:41 - Apo l lo 13 Mission aborted because of serviceigert, Jr. mo dule oxygen tank failure.ise, Jr.

1/31-2/9/7116:01:59 34 rev. Ap ol lo 14 First manned landing in and explorat ionA. Ro osa of Moon of lunar highlands. Total stay t ime:. Mitchell 33 hrs. 31 mm.4 7


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pollo 15 Astronauts Irwin, Scott and Wordenith Roverron in July, 1971 Commander David ft

cott and his colleague, James B. Irwin,ring to the lunar surface the battery-

wered Rover, while the third crew mem-s for them in

The astronauts will unfold the 450-me is Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV)-

its stowage compartment in thee landing craft and

the springs that will cause thever's components to snap into place.e Rover's range is 40 miles (65 kilo-

e astronauts will remainradius of three miles (five kilo-

eir landing craft so that theyalk back to it if the Rover shouldme disabled on the rugged lunar

. Even with that limitation, thewill be able to ride over and

ore an area equivalent to 28 squaree kilometers)more than

le the area astronauts can reason-to cover on foot in the

and rock-strewn, crater-pocked Moon theastronauts may drive much slower. TheRover can carry up to 1,000 pounds (450kilograms)sufficient to transport thetwo astronauts in their Moon suits andrelated gear, plus large quantities ofinstruments, tools and Moon rocks.

Apollo 15's landing site is in theHadley-Apennine region, a plain cut by amassive gorge along the base of some ofthe Moon's highest mountains. The site is465 miles (748 kilometers) north of theMoon's equator, in contrast to the landingsites of Apollo 11, 12 and 14 which are allwithin 70 miles (115 kilometers) of thelunar equator.

The Rover's large, umbrella-like an-tenna transmits from the vehicle's tele-vision camera which will be used whenthe vehicle is parked. That TV cameracan be controlled from Earth. In con-trastto Apollo 14, when the astronautswalked out of range of their TV camera,viewers on Earth can continue to receivepictures of the Apollo 15 astronauts whilethey are some distance from their vehicle.

apollo 14 - science at fra mauro

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