The Complete Book of Spaceflight: From Apollo 1 to Zero Gravity

Apollo 14
Crew
Commander: Alan Shepard
LM pilot: Edgar Mitchell
CM pilot: Stuart Roosa
Call signs
CM: Kitty Hawk
LM: Antares
Duration of moonwalks
First: 4 hr 48 min
Second: 4 hr 35 min
Time spent on Moon: 33 hr 31 min
Samples collected: 44.8 kg
The launch of Apollo 14 was put back about three
months to allow changes to the flight plan and hardware
following the experience of Apollo 13. The outbound
flight went on schedule, although it took six attempts to
successfully dock the CSM and the LM. Antares landed
on the Moon just 27 m from its target point in the Fra
Mauro highlands—the site selected for the aborted
Apollo 13 mission. During two moonwalks, Shepard
and Mitchell collected rock and soil samples and deployed
the ALSEP, a communications antenna, and a
color TV camera. For the first time, an astronaut wore a
spacesuit that was color-coded. The Apollo 12 astronauts
had trouble telling who was who when they reviewed
photos taken on the Moon. NASA subsequently
decided to place distinguishing marks on one of the
spacesuits; Shepard wore red stripes at the knees and
shoulders and on the helmet. During the second moonwalk,
the astronauts covered about 3 km traveling to and
from the rim of Cone Crater. For the first time, a MET
(Modularized Equipment Transporter), nicknamed the
“rickshaw,” was deployed. Resembling a wheelbarrow, it
was used mainly to carry tools, photographic equipment,
and rock and soil samples. However, as it filled up
it tended to tip over, so the astronauts resorted to carrying
instead of pushing it. This was the first moonwalk
during which astronauts used Buddy Life Support Systems
so that they could share life support from one pack
in an emergency. Shepard played the first golf shots on
the Moon: with a six iron head fixed to a metal rod (the
handle of his lunar sample collector), he struck one ball
about 180 m and another about twice as far. While
Shepard and Mitchell were on the surface, Roosa became
the first CSM pilot to carry out extensive onboard
experiments from lunar orbit. Concurrent with Apollo
14, the Russian Lunokhod 1 probe, operated remotely
from ground control, was exploring another part of the
lunar surface. The return to Earth went smoothly, and
the CM splashed down just 1.5 km from its intended
recovery point. 127
Apollo 15
Crew
Commander: David Scott
LM pilot: James Irwin
CM pilot: Alfred Worden
Call signs
CM: Endeavor
LM: Falcon
Duration of moonwalks
First: 6 hr 33 min
Second: 7 hr 12 min
Third: 4 hr 50 min
Time spent on Moon: 66 hr 55 min
Samples collected: 78 kg
The first extended-duration manned lunar mission. Falcon
landed on the Moon in Hadley Rille near the base
of the Apennines. Shortly after, Scott stood in the LM
upper hatch to photograph the landing area—a scheduled
“standup spacewalk” to allow more detailed analysis
of the surrounding terrain. For the first time, the
Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) was taken to the Moon
and, following initial difficulties with deployment and
steering, used for an excursion to St. George Crater.
Scott and Irwin drove the LRV a total of 10 km before
returning to set up the ALSEP. During their second
outing, the astronauts made a 12-km round-trip to
Mount Hadley Delta and found a green crystalline
rock, later called the “Genesis Rock” because of its presumed
great age. On their third excursion, Scott and
Irwin drove to Scarp Crater and Hadley Rille and
became the first astronauts to venture beyond the LM’s
field of view. A feather was dropped during the mission
alongside a hammer to illustrate in dramatic style one
of Galileo’s most significant findings. Sure enough, the
feather and hammer hit the Moon’s surface simultaneously.
For the first time, the liftoff of the LM was photographed
by a remote-operated TV camera on the
surface. The empty LM was again crashed into the
Moon following undocking to measure the impact
with seismometers. Also for the first time, a scientific
subsatellite was released into lunar orbit from the
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