Cuando la NASA estuvo a punto de perder la Luna… y Apolo 14 lo cambió todo

Video from the channel HistorIAs about Apollo 14, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 20:43. Language: Spanish. Video type: Documentary.

A documentary narrated in Spanish about the Apollo 14 mission, crewed by Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, and Stuart Roosa. It presents the mission as the one that restored confidence in the Apollo program after Apollo 13. It follows the flight from launch to splashdown in the Pacific on February 9, 1971, and ends with a reflection on current programs to return to the Moon, such as Artemis.

According to the narrative, after Apollo 13, in which an onboard explosion endangered the crew, NASA had to face public doubts and pressure over costs. Apollo 14's target was the Fra Mauro formation. It was the destination Apollo 13 failed to reach, a region believed to have formed from material ejected by the impact that created the Mare Imbrium. The documentary also reviews Shepard's career. He was one of the seven original Mercury astronauts and the first American in space. He later spent years unable to fly due to an inner-ear disorder, until surgery allowed him to return to active duty and command this mission.

The mission first overcame a docking failure between the command module and the lunar module Antares, which was resolved after several attempts. During the descent there was also a problem with the landing radar. Shepard was 47 years old and became the oldest man to walk on the Moon. During the two moonwalks, he and Mitchell pulled the Modular Equipment Transporter, a two-wheeled cart, and tried to reach the rim of Cone crater, about 300 m in diameter. The undulating terrain disoriented them, and with limited time, they had to turn back. Later analysis placed their closest point at about 30 m from the rim. They returned with about 42 kg of lunar rocks. At the end of the final moonwalk, Shepard hit golf balls with a six-iron head he had attached to a sample-collection tool. Meanwhile, Roosa remained in lunar orbit conducting his own experiments.