orbit. This was the first mission since the Apollo 13 failure, and a lot was riding on it. Everything had to go correctly if NASA was to advance its plans for extensive lunar exploration. The crew also had some personal plans of their own to make their mission more meaningful. Stu Roosa, the Command Module Pilot, would spend 33 hours orbiting the Moon alone while his colleagues Al Shepard and Ed Mitchell explored the surface. Roosa was a highly-regarded test pilot from Edwards Air Force Base when he was selected by NASA in 1966. He was so well regarded, in fact, that he never served on a backup crew like most of his fellow astronauts—his first full flight assignment was tc journey to the Moon.
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