Browse All : Apollo 14 and Moon and Crater of Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)

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Apollo 14 on the Moon
Title Apollo 14 on the Moon
Explanation The jewel-like glare from a brilliant sun reflects off the lunar module of the Apollo 14 [ http://www.c3.lanl.gov/~cjhamil/SolarSystem/apo14.htm ] mission to the Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950903.html ] as it rests on the lunar surface in February 1971. Astronauts Alan Shepard [ http://tigger.uic.edu/~jph/abs.htm ] and Edgar Mitchell walked on the Moon's surface [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950922.html ] while astronaut Stuart Roosa piloted the orbiting command module. Coming only months after the abortive Apollo 13 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950707.html ] mission, Apollo 14 [ http://ees5-www.lanl.gov/APOLLO/ ] was famous for long exploratory moon walks, collecting samples of lunar bedrock from Cone Crater, deploying the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package, and hitting golf balls [ http://ees5-www.lanl.gov/APOLLO/a14.clsout2.html ]. The slope rising to the rim of Cone Crater is visible at the left edge of the photo.
Apollo 14 Deploys ALSEP
Title Apollo 14 Deploys ALSEP
Explanation After the lunar module [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951209.html ] of Apollo 14 [ http://bang.lanl.gov/solarsys/apo14.htm ] set down on the Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951128.html ], Astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell deployed the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) and collected samples of lunar material. The ALSEP scientific experiments included a seismometer [ http://gldfs.cr.usgs.gov/ ] sensitive to slight lunar surface movements, and charged particle detectors which measured the solar wind [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/glossary.html#sol_wind ]. The seismometer successfully measured surface tremors interpreted as moonquakes [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950904.html ] and meteoroids [ http://ccf.arc.nasa.gov/sst/ ] striking the Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950903.html ], while the solar wind [ http://www.sel.bldrdoc.gov/effects.html ] experiment was sensitive enough to detect the element argon [ http://www.cchem.berkeley.edu/Table/Ar.html ]. These and other ALSEP experiments helped classify the internal structure and magnetic field of Earth's Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950629.html ]. Shepard and Mitchell also made a geology traverse to the rim of Cone Crater, carrying their tools and sample containers in the Modular Equipment Transporter (MET). In this picture Alan Shepard assembles a core tube which he will then hammer into the surface.
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