24. [Apollo 14] THE CSM KITTY HAWK TRIUMPHANTLY PARACHUTING BACK TO EARTH NASA, 9 February 1971 Printed 1971. Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image S-71-18753]. With NASA caption and "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse, numbered "NASA S-71-18753" in red in the top margin (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas). 20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.) Historical context One of the most striking images of humanity's return from another world. Suspended beneath three large orange-and-white parachutes, the Apollo 14 Command Module drifts toward the Pacific Ocean, moments before splashdown on February 9, 1971. The successful conclusion of this ten-day lunar landing mission marked NASA's return to the Moon after the harrowing ordeal of Apollo 13. The capsule splashed down at 3:04:39 p.m. (CST), approximately 765 nautical miles south of American Samoa. Shortly after landing, astronauts Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell were retrieved by helicopter and flown to the USS New Orleans, the prime recovery ship. With this mission, Alan Shepard—America's first astronaut—completed his long-awaited journey to the Moon, while Mitchell and Roosa contributed valuable scientific exploration and lunar surface experiments at Fra Mauro. Literature Apollo: through the eyes of the astronauts, Jacobs, ed., p. 97