Photos: Apollo 14 astronaut training in Arizona, 1970
In early 1970, the U.S. Geological Survey used 71,000 pounds of explosives to create 366 craters on Prescott National Forest near Cottonwood, Ariz., to simulate the surface of Fra Mauro, the proposed Apollo 14 landing site on the Moon.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) brought the Apollo 14 crew to the site in November, 1970, to navigate the craters, some as deep as 50-feet, and practice tasks like collecting samples of lunar rock and dust, photographing the terrain and sending back descriptions.
During simulation, astronauts Alan B. Shepard (one of the original Mercury astronauts) and Edgar Dean Mitchell "landed" on the Lunar surface and Stuart A. Roosa manned the command module in orbit around the Moon. For the simulation, Shepard and Mitchell pulled around what Mitchell described as a "portable work table" to gather samples. Roosa and NASA commanders sent messages to the crew from the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston.
On January 31, 1971, the Saturn V rocket carrying the Apollo 14 crew lifted off from Cape Kennedy for a nine-day journey to the Moon and back. The astronauts were the last to be quarantined on their return (formerly a standard practice). Manned flights to the Moon ended a year later.
Apollo 14 astronaut training in Arizona
Astronaut Alan Shepard walks the edge of a man-made crater during NASA training simulation near Cottonwood, Ariz., in Nov., 1970, of the Apollo 14 landing on Fra Mauro on surface of the Moon
Apollo 14 astronaut training in Arizona
Local media with film cameras talk with astronauts Edgar Dean Mitchell and Alan Shepard during NASA training simulation near Cottonwood, Ariz., in Nov., 1970, of the Apollo 14 landing on Fra Mauro on surface of the Moon. Crouching in foreground is legendary ABC science reporter Jules Bergman.
Apollo 14 astronaut training in Arizona
Astronauts Alan Shepard, left, and Edgar Dean Mitchell walk the edge of a man-made crater during NASA training simulation near Cottonwood, Ariz., in Nov., 1970, of the Apollo 14 landing on Fra Mauro on surface of the Moon. A very simple model of the Lunar Module can be seen background right.
Apollo 14 astronaut training in Arizona
Astronauts Edgar Dean Mitchell and Alan Shepard gather samples in a man-made crater during NASA training simulation near Cottonwood, Ariz., in Nov., 1970, of the Apollo 14 landing on Fra Mauro on surface of the Moon
Apollo 14 astronaut training in Arizona
A very simple model of an Apollo Lunar Module sits above astronauts Edgar Dean Mitchell and Alan Shepard as they take samples using a Modular Equipment Transporter during NASA training simulation near Cottonwood, Ariz., in Nov., 1970, of the Apollo 14 landing on Fra Mauro on surface of the Moon
Apollo 14 astronaut training in Arizona
Alan Shepard, left, one of the original Mercury astronauts, and Edgar Dean Mitchell chat with reporters during NASA training simulation near Cottonwood, Ariz., in Nov., 1970, of the Apollo 14 landing on Fra Mauro on surface of the Moon
Apollo 14 astronaut training in Arizona
Astronaut Edgar Dean Mitchell leads Alan Shepard pushing a Modular Equipment transporter in a crater near Cottonwood, Ariz., during NASA training simulation in Nov., 1970, of the Apollo 14 landing on Fra Mauro on surface of the Moon
Apollo 14 astronaut training in Arizona
Using a Lunar Equipment Transporter, astronauts Alan Shepard, left, and Edgar Dean Mitchell compile data during a NASA training simulation near Cottonwood, Ariz., in Nov., 1970, of the Apollo 14 landing on Fra Mauro on surface of the Moon
Rick Wiley
Photo editor
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