Apollo 14 crew landed on the Moon in 1971 with the mission objectives of investigating the Fra Mauro region, to deploy and activate an Apollo lunar surface experiments package, and obtain photographs of candidate exploration sites.
It was the 14th in a series of Apollo missions, and the third to successfully achieve a lunar landing. Apollo 14 is described as the back to a space mission of NASA after an unfortunate accident with Apollo 13 that forced it to circle around the Moon without landing.
This year's 50th anniversary of the mission was marked with the families of the astronauts in Apollo 14 as a triumphant return to the Moon, remembering how astronaut Alan Shepard played golf on the Lunar surface and how the third lunar landing pushed the US to the frontier of lunar science.
Families of Apollo 14 Astronauts Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Mission
Shepard became the oldest man to walk on the lunar surface at the age of 47, but he was also the first man in space in 1961 serving as the pilot for Mercury 3 mission, Freedom 7.
His daughter, Laura Shepard recalled in an interview, that she had just recently graduated from college when her father went to the Moon, UPI reported. She said that their whole family was surprised to see her father play golf on the Moon as he did not tell anyone in his family about it.
Thinking about the upcoming Artemis mission, Laura said that it was a wonderful resurgence of the Apollo missions era because although they were not much talked about these days, it served the scientific community a great deal of importance.
Meanwhile, Stuart Roosa's family had a Texas-based nonprofit venture which they call the "Back to Space." It organized a gala last Saturday in commemoration of the 50 years of the Apollo Missions.
The Roosa family's Back to Space nonprofit venture aims to connect students with astronauts to spur further the interest in Apollo history and encourage careers in space. They plan to build an educational theme park that will showcase lunar exploration as it will include a lunar landscape experience.
On the other hand, Ed Mitchell's travels around the world after the success of Apollo became a great opportunity to bridge different races, cultures, and nations. Anita Mitchell, his wife, and companion on his trips said that America ultimately went to the Moon for peace, and to transcend any differences that is most relevant today.
However, no human has ever stepped foot on the Moon since Apollo 17 in December 1972. But NASA is hoping to change that with their Artemis Mission that will hopefully come true in 2024.
Apollo 14: The Back to Space Mission
NASA wrote on their website that Apollo 14 mission was launched from the Kennedy Space Center carrying astronauts Alan Shepard, the mission commander; Edgar Mitchell, the lunar module pilot; and Stuart Roosa, the command module pilot.
The mission's primary objective was to investigate the Moon's Fra Mauro region, deploy an Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package, collect surface material samples to be sent back to Earth, and deploy scientific instruments not part of the experiments package.
According to the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), scientists had to make some changes in the rocket of the Apollo 14 mission after the accident of Apollo 13 that almost killed its crew. This is to prevent the repeat of that unfortunate event.
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