It took Apollo 13 approximately six days to return home after launching, splashing down on April 17, 1970, about 142 hours after liftoff, following the explosion that damaged their spacecraft, forcing a harrowing journey using the lunar module as a lifeboat to slingshot around the Moon and back to Earth.
Despite the cold, damp conditions endured during the mission, the CM performed admirably for its final few hours before splashing down into the Pacific Ocean on 17 April 1970, safely returning the crew to Earth 142 hours after launch.
The best guess as to what was causing the shallowing of the reentry angle, and thus the longer blackout time, was that the cooling loop in the Lunar Module was venting the entire time. While this wouldn't have been a big deal on normal missions, it was enough to push them off the ideal trajectory.
“She dropped the ring down the drain and realized it was not a good omen. She felt that something ominous was coming — and it did.” (For the record, Jim Lovell later revealed that the movie did take one creative liberty: in real life, Marilyn recovered her wedding band from the shower drain trap.)
The crew subsisted on 6 ounces of water per person a day. Power was severely rationed, and the temperature inside the cabin dropped below 40 °F (4 °C), causing the crew great difficulty sleeping.
The UPA, cramps and periods generally being a bit messy, mean many astronauts now choose to not menstruate on missions. By taking birth control in the form of a hormonal pill, people who menstruate can induce amenorrhea (say: uh-men-o-REE-uh).
Fred Haise, the lunar module pilot of Apollo 13, developed a urinary tract infection during his mission that progressed to pyelonephritis, with lethargy, fevers, and flank pain persisting throughout the duration of the mission.
Haise developed a kidney and urinary tract infection, causing intense pain and flight sickness during a mounting crisis.
(at around 1h 50 mins) Before re-entry, the crew were informed that their course was shallowing because they did not have the lunar samples that would have been gathered if they had landed on the Moon. This is incorrect.
To answer your question about Tom Hanks' age during filming: he was born on July 9, 1956. When production for "Apollo 13" began in late 1994 and wrapped up in early 1995, Hanks would have been around 38 years old.
Soon after, Swigert's crewmate Fred Haise developed a serious urinary tract infection from a microbe that hitched a ride in the spacecraft—the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The infection spread to his kidneys, causing intense pain and threatening to infect other parts of his body.
Apollo 1 Tragedy
Jan. 27, 1967, tragedy struck on the launch pad at Cape Kennedy during a preflight test for Apollo 204 (AS-204). The mission was to be the first crewed flight of Apollo, and was scheduled to launch Feb. 21, 1967.
#OTD in 1972, Apollo 17 moonwalker Harrison “Jack” Schmitt became the first geologist to walk on the Moon. He and crewmate Eugene Cernan set records for the amount of time spent on the lunar surface and returned more than 240 pounds of rocks and soil. In 1972 humans brought back 240 lbs of Moon rock…
The most famous quote from the Apollo 13 mission is "Houston, we've had a problem", spoken by Commander Jim Lovell shortly after an oxygen tank exploded. While the movie version famously shortened it to "Houston, we have a problem", the original transmission from the spacecraft was the longer phrase.
They're still there perfectly preserved in the silent dust where no wind, rain, or atmosphere exists to wash them away. Each step remains exactly where it was made more than 50 years ago, a timeless reminder of human curiosity and courage.
Floating free against the velvety blackness of space was Bruce McCandless II. For the first time ever, a human being was able to perform a spacewalk while completely untethered thanks to the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), a jetpack-like device McCandless helped develop for over a decade.
🪐 Marilyn Lovell really did lose her ring down the drain, but eventually found it again. 🪐 After Swigert admits having forgotten to file his tax return, Clint Howard, who has had tax problems in real life, improvised the line where he says "That's no joke! They'll jump on him!"
Did Jim Lovell really remove his biomed sensors during the Apollo 13 return trip to Earth? This is generally true, but the film embellishes a lot. (One of the few NASA photos made by the Apollo 13 crew after the accident.
Lovell said the movie was “a disservice”
The studio explained the changes by saying the network would never have accepted a documentary-style project. It also emphasized the added disclaimers that to point out the movie's fictitious elements.
12. Fred Haise, played by Paxton, really did throw up a little (and just once) in space, but from lingering effects of a virus, not motion sickness. They used Beef-a-Roni for space vomit and, after losing some sort of bet with Hanks, Paxton ate whatever was left in the can.
Diarrhea in the space environment presents several problems, including constant use of the Waste Containment System and dehydration, which may exacerbate landing orthostasis. Over-the-counter medications (Imodium and Pepto Bismol) for oral ingestion are available in the Shuttle Orbiter Medical Systems (SOMS) kit.
Yes, there has been an alleged crime in space, sparking the first NASA criminal investigation in orbit involving astronaut Anne McClain accessing her estranged spouse's bank account from the International Space Station (ISS) in 2019, though she was later cleared and her ex-spouse charged with making false statements, highlighting the legal complexities of jurisdiction in space. While no major crimes have been prosecuted in space, this incident proved the "long arm of the law" can reach orbit, with astronauts remaining under their home nation's laws for offenses committed on the ISS, according to intergovernmental agreements.
It turns out that while most systems in the human body are heavily affected during spaceflight, the female menstrual cycle doesn't seem to change at all. “It can happen normally in space, and if women choose to do that, they can,” Jain said.
Krikalev is sometimes referred to as the "last Soviet citizen," having been aboard Mir during the dissolution of the Soviet Union. With the country that launched him no longer existing, his return was delayed, and he remained in space for 311 days—twice as long as planned.
Apollo 16 astronaut Charles Duke left a framed family photo on the Moon's surface. On the back it reads: "This is the family of astronaut Charlie Duke from planet Earth who landed on the moon on April 20, 1972."