MISSION_DESCRIPTION |
Mission Overview
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Apollo 14 was launched on 31 January 1971 UT 21:03:02 on a Saturn V
rocket from Kennedy Space Center. Lunar orbit insertion took place on
4 February 1971 UT 06:59:43. The Lunar Module (LM) landed on the Moon
on 5 February 1971 UT 09:18:11, in the hilly upland region 24 km north
of the rim of Fra Mauro crater at 3.6 S, 17.5 W, while the
Command/Service Module (CSM) orbited the Moon. The lunar ascent module
launched from the Moon on 6 February 1971 UT 18:48:42. The command
module returned to Earth on 9 February 1971 UT 21:05:00.
The astronauts on Apollo 14 were commander Alan Shepard, Jr., command
module pilot Stuart Roosa, and lunar module pilot Edgar Mitchell.
The astronauts made two moonwalk EVA's totaling 9 hours, 23 minutes,
one on 5 February and one on 6 February, during which the Apollo Lunar
Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) was placed on the surface and
activated, 42.9 kg of lunar samples were acquired, and photographs
were taken. The lunar surface stay-time was 33.5 hours. The duration
of the lunar orbit was 66.6 hours for a total of 34 orbits.
Surface Operations
==================
Shepard and Mitchell made two moonwalk extra-vehicular activities
(EVAs) totaling 9 hours, 23 minutes. During this time the astronauts
traversed a total of 3.45 km and collected 42.9 kg of lunar samples.
The first EVA began at 14:42:13 UT on 5 February and ended at 19:30:03
UT. During this first EVA the astronauts deployed the ALSEP and other
experiments in the vicinity of the Lunar Module near Doublet Crater.
During the second EVA, which took place from 8:11:15 to 12:45:56 UT
on 6 February, the astronauts walked almost to the rim of nearby
Cone crater, stopping at 13 stations, collecting samples and taking
panoramic photographs and magnetometer measurements along the traverse.
The astronauts did not reach the rim of Cone Crater as planned but
came within about 20 meters of the edge. The traverse totaled
approximately 3 km distance, heading out past Triplet, Weird, and
Flank Craters and returning along a nearly parallel route. At the
end of this walk Shepard used a contingency sampler with a 6-iron
connected to the end to hit two golf balls. The LM lifted off the
Moon on 6 February at 18:48:42 UT after 33 hours, 31 minutes on the
lunar surface.
Surface Experiments
===================
The Apollo 14 astronauts performed and deployed many experiments on
the lunar surface along with the geologic studies, sample return, and
surface photography.
- The Soil Mechanics Investigations studied the physical properties
of the lunar regolith through photography and astronaut
observations.
- The Solar Wind Composition experiment collected samples of solar
wind on a large piece of foil which was returned to Earth.
- The Lunar Portable Magnetometer, deployed by the astronauts at
various locations near the landing site to study local magnetic
sources.
Other experiments were part of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments
Package (ALSEP) which was emplaced at the landing site by the
astronauts. The instruments, connected by cables to a central station
which controlled power and communications, ran autonomously. Data
collected was converted to a telemetry format and transmitted to
Earth. Many of these experiments returned data until January 1976,
when the ALSEP network was turned off due to budgetary constraints.
The Apollo 14 ALSEP instruments consisted of:
- A Passive Seismometer, designed to measure seismic activity and
physical properties of the lunar crust and interior.
- An Active Seismometer, designed to study the physical properties
of the lunar surface and subsurface materials and the structure of
the local near-surface layers.
- A Suprathermal Ion Detector, designed to measure positive ions
reaching the lunar surface to provide data on the plasma
interaction between the solar wind and the Moon.
- A Cold Cathode Ion Gage, designed to measure the density of
neutral particles in the tenuous lunar atmosphere.
- A Charged Particle Lunar Environment Experiment, designed to
measure the energy spectra of low-energy charged particles
striking the lunar surface.
- A Lunar Dust Detector, designed to assess the long-term effects of
the lunar dust, radiation, and thermal environment on solar cells.
- A Laser Ranging Retroreflector, designed to reflect laser pulses
from Earth back to their point of origin to make accurate
determination of the distance between Earth and the Moon.
Orbital Science Experiments
===========================
Investigations were also carried out from lunar orbit in the Apollo 14
Command and Service Module. Hand-held photography and telescopic
selenodetic reference point studies were performed from the command
module, and instruments operated from the Scientific Instrument Module
(SIM) in the Service Module, comprising:
- An S-Band Transponder Experiment designed to carefully track the CSM
orbit and measure the lunar gravity field.
- A Bistatic Radar Experiment used measurements of S-Band and VHF
reflections to probe electromagnetic and structural properties of
the lunar surface.
Additional experiments were also performed in lunar orbit and during
the cruise between Earth and the Moon:
- The Gegenschein Photography Experiment took images of the
reflections from dust particles at the Moulton point.
- The Window Meteoroid experiment studied micrometeoroid impacts on
the Apollo 14 Command Module heat shield windows to obtain
information about the mass flux of micrometeorites.
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MISSION_OBJECTIVES_SUMMARY |
Mission Objectives Overview
===========================
The primary scientific objectives of the Apollo 14 mission were to:
- Carry out a geological survey, comprehensive sampling, and
photographic documentation in the Fra Mauro region;
- Emplace and activate surface experiments;
- Conduct experiments and photographic tasks from lunar orbit.
This description was provided by the NASA Space Science Data Coordinated
Archive (NSSDCA).
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