Apollo 14
January 13, 1971 – February 9, 1971
Landing on the Fra Mauro region of the Moon, which was the intended landing site of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, Apollo 14 was the third crewed lunar landing.
The astronauts used the Modularized Equipment Transporter (MET) to haul equipment during two Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVAs). Astronauts deployed the Apollo Lunar Experiment Package (ALSEP), which was then left on the Moon and sent scientific data back to Earth. They collected samples and took photographs of the nearby Cone crater, as well as photographed future landing sites and various deep space phenomena.
Learn more about tools used during the Apollo missions
Meet the Astronauts
- Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Commander: Alan Shepard is most well-known for becoming the first American in space aboard the Freedom 7. Apollo 14 was his last mission in space.
- Stuart A. Roosa, Command Module Pilot: Apollo 14 was Roosa first and only mission in space.
- Edgar D. Mitchell, Lunar Module Pilot: Like Roosa, Apollo 14 was also Mitchell's first and only mission in space.
Lessons from Apollo 14
Lessons from Apollo 14
The Fra Mauro Region
3.64530° S latitude, 17.47136° W. longitude
The Fra Mauro region is hilly, widespread geological area covering large portions of the lunar surface south of Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains). The 700-mile (1126 km) wide Mare Imbrium is the largest recognizable impact structure on the Moon, and is thought to have been formed by the impact of a large asteroid or comet with the Moon during the period when the Earth and the planets were forming.
The Fra Mauro formation is believed to be made up of an ejecta blanket, or a blanket of material, thrown out by that impact. The area is characterized by ridges a few hundred feet high which radiate from the Imbrium basin separated by undulating valleys. The ejecta blanket now is buried by younger rubble and lunar soil churned up by more recent meteoroid impacts and possible moonquakes.
A Moon Tree Grows in Brooklyn
In 1971 an Apollo 14 astronaut took about 500 tree seeds into orbit around the Moon. When he got back, those seeds were distributed, germinated, and planted all around the United States.
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Object Highlight
Golf Club, Apollo 14, Replica
Fore! This is a replica of a makeshift golf club Alan Shepard used to hit two golf balls on the Moon during the Apollo 14 mission. Shepard carried the modified Wilson six-iron in his spacesuit pocket, attaching the club head to the handle of a contingency sample return device. After the flight, Shepard gave the original club head to the US Golf Association Hall of Fame in New Jersey and this replica to the museum's collection in 1975.
More of Apollo 14 in the Collection
About the Apollo Program
About the Apollo Program