Apollo 14 mission commander Alan B. Shepard is seen here conducting extravehicular activity (EVA) related to the mission deployed scientific laboratory called Apollo Lunar Scientific Experiments Package (ALSEP). He is standing next to the central station of the ALSEP, which was deployed during the mission?s first EVA. The Apollo 14, carrying a crew of three astronauts: Shepard; Command Module pilot Stuart A. Roosa, and Lunar Module pilot Edgar D. Mitchell, lifted off from launch complex 39A at KSC on January 31, 1971. It was the third manned lunar landing, the first manned landing in exploration of the lunar highlands, and it demonstrated pinpoint landing capability. The major goal of Apollo 14 was the scientific exploration of the Moon in the foothills of the rugged Fra Mauro region. The EVA of astronauts Shepard and Mitchell included setting up the ALSEP, and collecting a total of about 95 pounds (43 kilograms) of Moon rock and soil for a geological investigation back on the Earth. Apollo 14 safely returned to Earth on February 9, 1971.
