Question 1

True or false: During the Apollo 14 mission, astronaut Alan Shepard hit two golf balls on the Moon using a makeshift 6-iron club head attached to a sample scoop.

Accepted Answer

True. Shepard smuggled a golf club head onto the lunar surface, attached it to a sample collection tool, and hit two golf balls. The low gravity allowed the balls to travel far, with one famously described as going 'miles and miles and miles'.

Question 2

True or false: Apollo 14 was the first mission to land at the Moon's south pole, near a crater called Fra Mauro.

Accepted Answer

False. Apollo 14 landed at Fra Mauro, but it's not the south pole; the first south pole landing was by India's Chandrayaan-3 in 2023.

Question 3

True or false: The Apollo 14 lunar module was named 'Snoopy' after the famous cartoon dog, continuing the Peanuts-themed naming tradition.

Accepted Answer

False. Apollo 14's LM was named 'Antares'; 'Snoopy' was the LM for Apollo 10. The Peanuts tradition did not continue past Apollo 10.

Question 4

True or false: Apollo 14's mission patch includes a unique feature: a comet symbolizing the crew's wish for good luck on their journey.

Accepted Answer

False. The patch has an astronaut's insignia and Earth, but no comet. It features a gold pin symbolizing the mission's goals, not a comet for luck.

Question 5

True or false: Apollo 14's crew included the first American astronaut to fly in space, Alan Shepard, who was also the oldest man on the Moon at the time.

Accepted Answer

True. Shepard was the first American in space (Mercury-Redstone 3) and, at 47, became the oldest person to walk on the Moon during Apollo 14.

Question 6

True or false: To fix a critical docking issue, Apollo 14's crew improvised using a sock and a makeshift tool to force the latch closed.

Accepted Answer

True. The Command Module's docking mechanism failed, so Shepard and Mitchell used a modified sock and a camera handle to manually engage the latch.

Question 7

True or false: During Apollo 14, the crew broadcast the first color TV from the lunar surface, using a special Westinghouse camera.

Accepted Answer

True. Apollo 14 was the first mission to transmit color TV from the lunar surface. The camera was a Westinghouse color camera that used a rotating filter wheel to produce color images. Apollo 10 had sent color TV from lunar orbit, not the surface.

Question 8

True or false: Apollo 14 carried a 'Moon tree'—seeds that later grew into trees planted around the world, including at the White House.

Accepted Answer

True. Stuart Roosa, the Command Module pilot, carried tree seeds; they were germinated after return and planted globally as 'Moon Trees'.

Apollo 14 Trivia Questions