[APOLLO 14] SOLAR WIND PANEL. VINTAGE NASA "RED NUMBER" PHOTOGRAPH, 5 FEBRUARY 1971.

The Vintage NASA Photo Collection of Philip Kulpa

[APOLLO 14] 

SOLAR WIND PANEL. 5 FEBRUARY 1971.

Vintage NASA “Red Number” chromogenic color photograph, 10 by 8 inches, “A Kodak Paper” watermark to verso. NASA image ID “NASA AS14-66-9310” printed in upper left margin in red; minor toning, two small pieces of tape to upper margin, marginal surface abrasions. 

The Solar Wind Composition Experiment was performed on Apollo missions 11, 12, 14, 15, and 16 (the Apollo 13 lunar landing, was, of course, aborted). The physical components of the experiment consisted of an aluminum foil sheet (1.4 meters by 0.3 meters) that was deployed on a pole facing the sun. The foil was exposed to the sun for periods ranging from 77 minutes (Apollo 11) to 45 hours (Apollo 16), allowing solar-wind particles to embed themselves into the foil. The foil was then returned to Earth for scientific analysis.