Apollo 14 Heads for Home
Explanation:
Fifty years ago
this Sunday (February 7, 1971), the crew
of Apollo 14
left lunar orbit and
headed for
home.
They watched
this
Earthrise from their command module Kittyhawk.
With Earth's sunlit crescent just peeking over the lunar horizon,
the cratered terrain in the foreground is along the lunar farside.
Of course, while orbiting the Moon, the crew could watch Earth rise and
set, but from the lunar surface the Earth hung stationary in the sky over
their landing site at
Fra Mauro Base.
Rock samples returned from Fra Mauro included a 20 pound rock
nicknamed Big Bertha, determined to contain a likely fragment of a
meteorite from planet Earth.
Kept on board the Kittyhawk during the Apollo 14 mission
was a cannister of 400-500 seeds that were later grown into
Moon
Trees.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
