Apollo 14 Heads for Home
Explanation:
When leaving lunar orbit in February 1971, the crew
of Apollo 14 watched
this
Earthrise from their command module Kittyhawk.
With Earth's sunlit crescent just peaking 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 the Earth hung stationary in the sky over
Fra Mauro Base,
their landing site on the lunar surface.
Rock samples brought back by the Apollo 14 mission
included a 20 pound rock nicknamed Big Bertha,
later determined to contain a likely fragment of a
meteorite
from planet Earth.
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.
