Free Astronomy Magazine May-June 2019

An innovation that allowed an in- crease in the exploration range of the lunar surface and in the quan- tity of material collected was the supply of a folding two-wheeled trolley, the Modular Equipment Transporter (MET), for the trans- portation of tools, cameras, a por- table magnetometer and lunar sam- ples. An investigation into the cause of the Apollo 13 cryogenic oxygen tank failure resulted in three ma- jor modifications to the Apollo 14 cryogenic oxygen storage system and feed systems. The internal con- struction of the oxygen tanks was modified, a third oxygen tank was added, and an auxiliary battery was installed. These changes were also incorporated into all subse- quent spacecraft. km west of the crater, but as it was too close to the edge of the Cone debris field, it was decided to go down twice as far as the crater. Cone was so vital to the geological objectives that there would be little merit for a landing beyond walking distance from the crater. Given the importance of the Fra Mauro For- mation, whose sampling was as- signed to Apollo 13 (a mission that lost its chance to land on the Moon), this site was reassigned to Apollo 14, which became the third success- ful lunar landing. Although the main targets of Apollo 14 were the same as Apollo 13, steps were taken for returning a considerably larger quantity of lunar material and scientific data than in the past. A POLLO 14 − Astronaut & MET, modular equipment transporter. [NASA, Project Apollo Archive] A POLLO 14 − Boulder formation. [NASA, Project Apollo Archive] !