Apollo 14

The words

1. Abort Switch

   Antares’ computer received an unwanted abort signal before the descent. Controllers developed a way to bypass the faulty signal so Shepard and Mitchell could continue toward their landing site.

   Lunar Surface Journal: the abort switch (opens a new tab)

2. Antares

   Antares was Apollo 14’s lunar module. It carried Shepard and Mitchell to Fra Mauro, served as their shelter between two moonwalks, and later returned them to Roosa in lunar orbit.

   NASA: Apollo 14’s landing and exploration (opens a new tab)

3. Capture Latch

   Capture latches were supposed to hold the spacecraft together at the start of docking. On the outward journey, they repeatedly failed to engage; Kitty Hawk and Antares finally joined on the sixth attempt.

   Did you know?

   Engineers brought a model of the docking probe into Mission Control as they worked on the problem. It gave the controllers a physical example of the mechanism they were discussing.

   NASA: Apollo 14’s launch and docking (opens a new tab)

4. Cone Crater

   Shepard and Mitchell climbed toward Cone Crater to gather rocks thrown out when it formed. Difficult terrain and limited time brought them back before they reached the rim, but they collected material from nearby.

   NASA: Apollo 14’s landing and exploration (opens a new tab)

5. Edgar Mitchell

   Edgar Mitchell was Apollo 14’s lunar module pilot and the sixth person to walk on the Moon. He flew with Shepard to the surface after serving as Apollo 10’s backup lunar module pilot.

   Lunar Surface Journal: Apollo 14’s crew (opens a new tab)

6. Fra Mauro

   Fra Mauro had been Apollo 13’s intended destination. After that mission’s oxygen-tank accident prevented a landing, NASA reassigned the site to Apollo 14, giving the region another place in the exploration plan.

   NASA: Fra Mauro reassigned after Apollo 13 (opens a new tab)

7. Golf Ball

   Shepard hit two golf balls near the end of Apollo 14’s surface work. In his later account, he explained that Robert Gilruth had agreed to the demonstration after the mission’s serious work was complete.

   NASA oral history: Shepard’s lunar golf (opens a new tab)

8. Kitty Hawk

   Kitty Hawk was Apollo 14’s command spacecraft. Roosa piloted it during the outward docking maneuver, turning it around to connect with Antares before the crew continued their journey to the Moon.

   NASA: Apollo 14’s launch and docking (opens a new tab)

9. Moon Trees

   Roosa carried tree seeds in Kitty Hawk during Apollo 14. After returning to Earth, the seeds were germinated and grown into saplings, which became known as Moon Trees.

   Did you know?

   Many saplings were given to schools, parks, universities and government offices for the United States’ bicentennial in 1976. Planting locations were chosen partly to suit the climate needs of each tree species.

   NASA: Roosa and the Moon Trees (opens a new tab)

10. Shepard

    Alan Shepard commanded Apollo 14 and became the fifth person to walk on the Moon. He had first flown in space aboard Freedom 7 in 1961, nearly a decade before his lunar mission.

    Lunar Surface Journal: Apollo 14’s crew (opens a new tab)

11. Six Iron

    Shepard’s lunar club used a modified six-iron head attached to the handle of a sample-collection tool. The compact arrangement let him carry the club head in his spacesuit pocket.

    Did you know?

    Shepard gave a replica to the Smithsonian’s National Collection in 1975. The original club head went to the US Golf Association, so the two museum objects have different histories.

    Smithsonian: Shepard’s golf-club replica (opens a new tab)

12. Smokejumper

    Before becoming an astronaut, Roosa worked as a smokejumper, a firefighter who parachuted from aircraft to fight wildfires. His Forest Service background helped inspire the project that sent tree seeds around the Moon.

    NASA: Roosa and the Moon Trees (opens a new tab)

13. Solder Ball

    Controllers suspected a loose metal particle, possibly a bead of solder, inside Antares’ abort switch. The changing electrical contact could make the computer receive a false command to cancel the landing.

    Lunar Surface Journal: the abort switch (opens a new tab)

14. Stuart Roosa

    Stuart Roosa stayed in Kitty Hawk while Shepard and Mitchell explored Fra Mauro. From lunar orbit, he conducted observations, photography and experiments, with the tree seeds traveling in his personal kit.

    NASA: Roosa and the Moon Trees (opens a new tab)

15. Thumper

    Mitchell used the thumper for Apollo 14’s active seismic experiment. Small explosive charges produced vibrations that nearby sensors recorded, helping scientists investigate the structure beneath the lunar surface.

    NASA: Apollo 14’s landing and exploration (opens a new tab)