Editing Apollo 14 (section)

== Preparation and training ==
[[File:Alan Shepard during training for the Apollo 14 mission.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|right|Shepard in front of the [[Lunar Landing Research Vehicle]], flown to simulate the landing]]
Prime and backup crews for both Apollo 13 and 14 were announced on August 6, 1969.<ref>{{cite press release
  | title = MSC 69-56
  | publisher = [[NASA]]
  | date = August 6, 1969
  | url = https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/83121main_1969.pdf
  | access-date = July 27, 2020
  | archive-date = February 2, 2017
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170202120858/https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/83121main_1969.pdf
  | url-status = dead
  }}</ref> Apollo 14 was scheduled for July 1970, but in January of that year, due to budget cuts that saw the cancellation of [[Apollo 20]], NASA decided there would be two Apollo missions per year with 1970 to see Apollo 13 in April and Apollo 14 likely in October or November.<ref>{{cite news|title=Apollo's schedule shifted by NASA; next flight in April|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1970/01/09/archives/apollos-schedule-shifted-by-nasa-next-flight-in-april.html | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date = January 9, 1970 | page = 17 | access-date = October 30, 2020}}</ref>

The investigation into the accident which caused an abort of Apollo 13 delayed Apollo 14. On May 7, 1970, NASA Administrator [[Thomas O. Paine]] announced that Apollo 14 would launch no earlier than December 3, and the landing would be close to the site targeted by Apollo 13. The Apollo 14 astronauts continued their training.<ref name = "May 7" >{{cite web|title=50 Years Ago: Apollo 14 and 15 Preparations|publisher=[[NASA]]|access-date=July 24, 2020|date=May 8, 2020|url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-apollo-14-and-15-preparations}}</ref> On June 30, 1970, following the release of the accident report and a NASA review of what changes to the spacecraft would be necessary, NASA announced that the launch would slip to no earlier than January 31, 1971.<ref>{{cite press release
  | title = Released by NASA Headquarters
  | publisher = [[NASA]]
  | date = June 30, 1970
  | url = https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/83122main_1970.pdf
  | access-date = July 27, 2020
  | archive-date = October 9, 2022
  | archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/83122main_1970.pdf
  | url-status = dead
  }}</ref>

The crew of Apollo 14 trained together for 19 months after assignment to the mission, longer than any other Apollo crew to that point.{{sfn|Chaikin 1995|p=351}} In addition to the normal training workload, they had to supervise the changes to the [[Apollo command and service module|command and service module]] (CSM) made as a result of the Apollo 13 investigation, much of which was delegated by Shepard to Roosa.{{sfn|Chaikin 1995|p=350}} Mitchell later stated, "We realized that if our mission failed—if we had to turn back—that was probably the end of the Apollo program. There was no way NASA could stand two failures in a row. We figured there was a heavy mantle on our shoulders to make sure we got it right."{{sfn|Moseley 2011|p=129}}

Before the abort of the Apollo 13 mission, the plan was to have Apollo 14 land near [[Littrow (crater)|Littrow crater]], in [[Mare Serenitatis]], where there are features that were thought to be volcanic. After Apollo 13 returned, it was decided that its landing site, near [[Cone (crater)|Cone crater]] in the [[Fra Mauro formation]], was scientifically more important than Littrow. The Fra Mauro formation is composed of ejecta from the impact event that formed [[Mare Imbrium]], and scientists hoped for samples that originated deep under the Moon's surface. Cone crater was the result of a young, deep impact, and large enough to have torn through whatever debris was deposited since the Imbrium Event, which geologists hoped to be able to date. Landing at Fra Mauro would also allow orbital photography of another candidate landing site, the [[Descartes Highlands]], which became the landing site for [[Apollo 16]]. Although Littrow went unvisited, a nearby area, [[Taurus-Littrow]], was the landing site for [[Apollo 17]].<ref name = "landing site" >{{cite web|url=https://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_14/landing_site/|title=Apollo 14 mission: Landing site|access-date=June 28, 2020|publisher=[[Lunar and Planetary Institute]]}}</ref> Apollo 14's landing site was located slightly closer to Cone crater than the point designated for Apollo 13.{{sfn|Orloff & Harland 2006|p=406}}

The change in landing site from Littrow to Fra Mauro affected the geological training for Apollo 14. Before the switch, the astronauts had been taken to volcanic sites on Earth; afterwards, they visited crater sites, such as the [[Nördlinger Ries|Ries Crater]] in West Germany and an artificial crater field created for astronaut training in Arizona's [[Verde Valley]]. The effectiveness of the training was limited by a lack of enthusiasm shown by Shepard, which set the tone for Mitchell. Harrison Schmitt suggested that the commander had other things on his mind, such as overcoming a ten-year absence from spaceflight and ensuring a successful mission after the near-disaster of Apollo 13.{{sfn|Phinney 2015|pp=111–113}}

[[File:Al Shepard and Ed Mitchell During geological training.jpg|thumb|left|Shepard (left) and Mitchell during geological training]]
Roosa undertook training for his period alone in lunar orbit, when he would make observations of the Moon and take photographs. He had been impressed by the training given to Apollo 13 prime crew CMP Mattingly by geologist [[Farouk El-Baz]] and got El-Baz to agree to undertake his training. The two men pored over lunar maps depicting the areas the CSM would pass over. When Shepard and Mitchell were on their geology field trips, Roosa would be overhead in an airplane taking photographs of the site and making observations. El-Baz had Roosa make observations while flying his [[Northrop T-38 Talon|T-38]] jet at a speed and altitude simulating the speed at which the lunar surface would pass below the CSM.{{sfn|Moseley 2011|pp=125–126}}

Another issue that had marked Apollo 13 was the last-minute change of crew due to exposure to communicable disease.<ref name = "swigert bio">{{cite web|url=http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/swigert-jl.html|access-date=August 21, 2009|title=Astronaut Bio: John L. Swigert|date=January 1983|publisher=[[NASA]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090731012402/http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/swigert-jl.html|archive-date=July 31, 2009| url-status=dead}}</ref> To prevent another such occurrence, for Apollo 14 NASA instituted what was called the Flight Crew Health Stabilization Program. Beginning 21 days before launch, the crew lived in quarters at the launch site, Florida's [[Kennedy Space Center]] (KSC), with their contacts limited to their spouses, the backup crew, mission technicians, and others directly involved in training. Those individuals were given physical examinations and immunizations, and crew movements were limited as much as possible at KSC and nearby areas.{{sfn|Press Kit|p=85}}

The Command and Service Modules were delivered to KSC on November 19, 1969; the ascent stage of the LM arrived on November 21 with the descent stage three days later. Thereafter, checkout, testing and equipment installation proceeded.{{sfn|Mission Report|pp=B-2—B-3}} The launch vehicle stack, with the spacecraft on top, was rolled out from the [[Vehicle Assembly Building]] to Pad 39A on November 9, 1970.<ref>{{cite web|last=Granath|first=Bob|date=February 5, 2016|title=Apollo 14 demonstrated spaceflight challenges are solvable|publisher=[[NASA]]|access-date=July 27, 2020|url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/apollo-14-demonstrated-spaceflight-challenges-are-solvable}}</ref>