Commander
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Command Module Pilot |
Lunar Module Pilot
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Alan Shepard, was the oldest U.S. astronaut when he made his trip aboard Apollo 14. He is the only astronaut from Project Mercury (the original Mercury Seven astronauts) to reach the Moon. Another of the original seven, Gordon Cooper, had (as Apollo 10's backup commander) tentatively been scheduled to command the mission, but according to author Andrew Chaikin, his casual attitude toward training, along with problems with NASA hierarchy (reaching all the way back to the Mercury-Atlas 9 flight), resulted in his removal.
The mission was a personal triumph for Shepard, who had battled back from Ménière's disease which grounded him from 1964 to 1968. He and his crew were originally scheduled to fly on Apollo 13, but in 1969 NASA officials switched the scheduled crews for Apollos 13 and 14. This was done to allow Shepard more time to train for his flight, as he had been grounded for four years.
Edgar Mitchell,was one of the few astronauts at the time who had a doctorate. In the Navy, he not only flew planes but also gave advanced mathematics and navigational lessons to aviators who were astronaut candidates. After five years at NASA, Mitchell's knowledge of the lunar landing module got accolades from his peers, likely factoring in to the decision to put him on Apollo 14.
Stuart Roosa, a former Air Force fighter pilot, was the command module pilot for Apollo 14. He served as CapCom for the Apollo 9 mission, impressing NASA with his ability to help the astronauts after crew member Rusty Schweickart fell ill. Roosa then became the first Apollo astronaut assigned to a flying crew without doing a backup assignment first.
As of 2015, Mitchell is the only surviving member of the crew; Roosa died in 1994 from pancreatitis and Shepard in 1998 from leukemia.