Apollo 14 Flown Backup Crew Patch from the Gene Cernan Collection

The Missions

Apollo 1

Apollo 7

Apollo 8

Apollo 9

Apollo 10

Apollo 11

Apollo 12

Apollo 13

Apollo 14

Apollo 15

Apollo 16

Apollo 17

A-14 Collection

Backup Patch

Transfer Bag

Medallion

Safety Line

LM Model

Photo Credits and Image Copyright: EarthToTheMoon.com


Flown Backup Crew Patch From Gene Cernan	Flown Backup Crew Patch Back View

This artifact is one of the infamous Apollo 14 backup crew patches. It flew on Apollo 14 having been smuggled on board by the technicians preparing the spacecraft for flight.

This artifact was put up for auction by Novaspace in June, 2004 on behalf of Astronaut Eugene Cernan. It is from that Astro Auction that the Earth To The Moon Air & Space Museum acquired this artifact.

The patch has been signed on the back by Astronaut Cernan to certify that it flew on Apollo 14.

The patch is also accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by Astronaut Cernan. The certificate of authenticity states, "Apollo 14 'Beep Beep' Patch Flown to the Moon. Apollo 14 was the only flight to have a patch made for the backup team.

After the Apollo 13 near-tragedy, Alan Shepard, Apollo 14 commander and the backup team of Cernan, Evans, and Engle worked very closely together. The joke was that the 'veterans' (roadrunner) would already be waiting on the moon when the 'three rookies' (the gray-bearded coyote representing Shepard) arrived.

The backup patches were parodies of the Apollo 14 patch itself. These patches were stashed throughout the Apollo 14 spacecraft, including the LM, annoyingly hiding in notebooks and lockers so that they would annoy and chide the crew. There was even one in the tool carrier used on the lunar surface.

This is one of the original flown backup crew patches. It was removed from the spacecraft by technicians after the flight and returned to me. Gene Cernan. Certified by Gene Cernan, CDR, Apollo 17"