1971-1980: THE LEARNING CURVE YEARS

The new decade opened with a year of great success and shocking tragedy. The first mission, Apollo 14, continued the success of the series with a third lunar landing, this time at Fra Mauro, the intended site of Apollo 13. The mission confirmed that walking on the Moon for short distances was possible but could be confusing and disorientating without adequate reference points or navigational aids. The astronauts were aided by a two-wheeled rickshaw-style equipment trans­port to ease the load they had to carry, but often found themselves carrying the device when it became stuck in the lunar regolith, which tired them even more.

Six months later, the Apollo 15 astronauts benefited from the first electrically powered manned lunar roving vehicle. This remarkable device significantly increased the capabilities and productivity of the two astronauts on the surface. Meanwhile, in lunar orbit the third crew member participated in an expanded orbital program of science and observations, using equipment and experiments housed in a special instrument bay in the Service Module and from within the Command Module. In the closing months of the Apollo program, NASA was trying to make the most of the three remaining missions to the Moon by flying as much science as possible.