13 Minutes to the Moon

S2 Ep.05 Life support

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Apr 5, 2020
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ANECDOTE

CO2 Crisis on Apollo 13

  • The Apollo 13 crew faced a critical issue with rising CO2 levels, jeopardizing their survival.
  • The lunar module's life support, designed for two astronauts, couldn't handle three over several days.
ANECDOTE

Incompatible Canisters

  • The command module and lunar module had incompatible CO2 canister shapes (square vs. round).
  • This seemingly minor design difference threatened the entire mission due to the inability to use spare canisters.
ANECDOTE

Improvised Adapter

  • NASA engineers had to improvise a solution to adapt the square canisters to the round holes.
  • Using random items like cardboard, duct tape, and a sock, they created a makeshift adapter.
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