Minute 075: Gentlemen, What are Your Intentions?

The Earth fills the screen.

“Thirteen, this is Houston,” says Capcom. “We’re reading your telemetry. Good to see you again!”

Lovell looks out the left LM window, while Swigert and Haise look out the right window.

“Good to see you, too, Houston,” replies Haise.

In the Lovell bedroom, Marilyn listens to the NASA squawkbox.

“We’re picking you up at approximately seven thousand sixty-two feet per second,” says Capcom, “at a distance from the Moon of fifty-six nautical miles.”

Lovell watches the Earth rise over the lunar surface. He holds his thumb at arm’s length, and covers the entire disk of the Earth with his thumb.

“Standby for your PC Plus Two burn data,” says Capcom.  Lovell lowers his arm.

“Gotta tell you,” says Haise, “I had an itch to take this baby down, though – – do some prospecting. Damn, we were close.”

Lovell looks at his crew. “Gentlemen,” he says, “what are your intentions?”

They both look at Lovell.

“I’d like to go home, ” says Lovell. He sighs. “We’ve got a burn coming up. We’re gonna need a contingency if we lose comm with Houston. Freddo, let’s get an idea where we stand on the consumables. Jack, get into the Odyssey and back up all the water you can before it freezes in there.”

IN THIS MINUTE:

Tom Hanks as Jim Lovell
Kathleen Quinlan as Marilyn Lovell
Kevin Bacon as Jack Swigert
Bill Paxton as Fred Haise
Ned Vaughan as Capcom 2