Apollo 13 +40

[WhiteCrowNZ]

We watched Apollo 13 this weekend, not realising of course that we're currently only a day away from the 40 year anniversary of things going wrong on the lunar mission ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_13

40 years ago on 13th April, 1970 a routine operation onboard the Service Module cause an oxygen tank to explode, damaging the spacecraft as it approached the Moon. The problems were myriad, but using the space craft designed to land on the Moon to substitute the Service Module, and stretching their equipment and resources to the limit, they were able to return home alive.



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Very much a mission which inspired me into becoming an engineer. My mum used to tell me about it and what happened. My mother says she decided to marry my dad because he was the only guy who'd stay up to watch the Apollo 11 landing with her. I read articles about it as a kid, I loved the film and the book my Jim Lovell, which I think it's high time to pull out and reread.

They got married (my parents), and were on their honeymoon when the Apollo 13 drama happened, and she says (as they both obviously followed the space program) what a horrible week it was, as they were supposed to be enjoying their honeymoon, but there was this dread that three men in a space ship were doomed.

[WhiteCrowNZ]

The BBC have a very good article on this ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8613715.stm

[WhiteCrowNZ]

In a way it's a poigniant anniversary. As I work through From The Earth To The Moon aided by wikipedia, I'm realising how many of our Apollo astronauts aren't with us anymore, many are now in their 80s.

In 10 more years there will be less, and with it will go the only people alive who have landed on another planetary body. We're still 10-20 years away from returning. It's possible there will be a point where there won't be a man alive who's been to the Moon, it almost feels a giant leap backwards.