Apollo 13 Mission
The Apollo 13 Mission is a scientific event that took place during my mothers birth. The
event took place on April eleventh, 1970. The Apollo 13 accident was as result of an explosion
and outburst of oxygen from the second tank in the service module. The explosion broke a line or
destroyed the valve in oxygen number one causing it to lose oxygen in a rapid way. The service
module number four was blown off leading to the loss of oxygen store in three hours. There was
also a loss of electrical power, propulsion system, and water (Messel, 16). Before the Apollo 13
was launched, it provided a sobering evidence indicating that problems and dangers to be
experienced in the outer space were beyond engineering and anticipation of human beings.
Sometimes problems faced were minor in comparison to the earth activities but major to space
flight. A problem occurred during such a launch. The Apollo 13 crew was exposed to German
measles or rubella while working with Charles M Duke, who developed the disease a week to the
launching. One of the crew members was found to lack immunity against rubella and therefore
got removed from the group that was set to fly. By having the disease, he would endanger his life
and that of other crew members onboard. Plans call for the use of the entire backup crew when a
member of the prime crew is incapacitated, however, change proved difficult since the trio got
changed at the last minute.
The Apollo Thirteen Mission was NASA's third attempt to land on the moon and it was
launched in Cape Canaveral (Nickerson, 12). The crew consisted of Fred W.Haise, John L
Swigert, and James A. Lovell. The astronauts were to land in Fra Mauro, a highland in the moon
where they were to investigate Imbrium Basin and carry out geological experiments. However,
the mission of the crew changed immediately upon an oxygen tank exploded, causing the
objective of the mission to focus on the safe return of the Apollo 13 crew members. On April
13th, at nine PM, the jet in which the crew members were in, had flown two hundred thousand
miles from the earth. The astronauts had made a television broadcast and were inspecting the
landing site, Aquarius (Nickerson, 22). The crew was to enter the moon's orbit on the third day,
and Haise and Lovell were to be the fifth and sixth men to land on the moon. However, at 9:08
their dreams came to an end when an explosion took place. The second oxygen tank blew up
resulting in the inadequate supply of light, water, oxygen, and electricity. The spacecraft was
exhausting out oxygen that was the command module oxygen leading to abortion of the mission.
The pressure in the command module was lost, and fuel cells died forcing the crew to move to
landing module. Fortunately, the landing module contained a lifeboat and just enough oxygen to
accommodate the crew- or so they thought. The LM was made to carry astronauts to and from
the moon's surface, but its power supply could only support three people to go to and from the
moon in ninety hours. The problems were the lack of water, accurate navigation and freezing
conditions. On 17th April, the crew made a proper navigation and re-entered the earth’s
atmosphere landing safely in the Pacific Ocean.
Apollo thirteen mission is discussed in terms of scholarship that has arisen from it or its present
view. Gerald Griffin, the flight director, recalls the mission in a terrified manner. His writings of
the mission are almost illegible; He recalls how the trip was full of discomfort beyond lacking
water and food. Sleep was difficult because the turnoff of the electrical systems during the
mission led to the spacecraft's loss of heat, thus making is cold. Temperatures went down to
thirty eight degrees Celsius and condensation occurred on all sides of the walls. After a thorough
investigation on the accident renewal of 13th April, the result.
Also, a review on Apollo 13 mission carried on 17th April gives report publication about it. After
assembly and testing of oxygen tank two it was assigned to Apollo thirteen that was sent to
North American Rockwell from Beech Aircraft Corporation in a satisfying manner. The tank had
two thermometric switches on the heater assembly that were not enough and would obviously
fail during test operations. Probably the tank had a loosely fitting tube. The tank was displaced
leading to the jarring of the tank.
The most significant achievement during the mission was the repair of the CM after a long
period of deactivation. The flight controllers documented the procedures for that innovation in
three periods instead of the long three months. The command document was filled with cold and
clamminess at the beginning of power up. The ceilings, walls, floor, panels and wire harness
were filled with droplets of water (Dumuolin 21). The panels also had the same conditions. The
chances of short circuit caused fear but a safeguard was built inside the module. The droplets
filled everywhere as they moved away from the atmosphere. Four hours before it landed, the
three astronauts shed the service module. Photo of the service module indicated a whole panel
missing and the wreckage sticking out, it was a messas as it moved away. Three hours later, the
crew hit the surface of Pacific Ocean. Intensive investigations led to the cause of the explosion.
The CM had gone several improvement raising its permissible voltage whereas the heaters were
not change to adapt to the change hence leading to explosion. The overheating led to the
explosion that took place on April 13th.
The safe return of Apollo 13 led to significant impact on our culture. It marked the strength of
American prowess in technology. During the time of Apollo thirteen exploration, it led to
surprising fact on what America was achieving with its scientific tools. Acceleration in human
space flight led to increase in university student doing their masters and PhD in in physics three
times than before. Apollo was leading to a more knowledgably America. The mission led to
rapid increase in technology advancement. The work of NASA engineers led to dramatic change
in computing and electronics system. The ongoing research and development led to formation of
companies like Intel Corp that offers lot of work to people who spend most of their time on their
laptops and blackberries posting information on twitter and Facebook. From early to late 1960s
there was tremendous advancement in technology as Apollo was being designed. Apollo mission
also led to development of computer hardware and software, nanotechnology, aeronautics,
transportation, robotics and health care industries. Micro-electromechanical systems,
microprocessors, super and microcomputers are creation of Apollo technologies. Technological
advancement led to cultural impact in various ways.
The Teflon coated fiberglass that was formed in 1970s as a new fabric for astronaut spacesuits
is being used as a permanent roofing material for stadiums and buildings nationwide (Lovel 11).
Astronauts also wore lunar surface liquid –cooled clothes to protect them from temperatures
reaching two hundred and fifty Fahrenheit (Lovell, 32). The garments are currently used as
spinoffs adapted for cooling systems that are used for treating medical ailments like sports
injuries, spinal injuries, multiple sclerosis and burning limb syndrome. A project used in Johnson
Space Centre s used by firefighters as light breathing device. Currently it is a technology used in
inhalation.
Forty years since the occurrence of Apollo 13 can cause one to forget the superstition and
apprehension of such a time like the astronauts facing with death rays, poisonous rays and aliens.
Apollo has blessed human beings with the gift of stronger human unity than ever before. The
technological advancement that the space race offered change the course of human history in big
ways than anyone could have seen. The early astronauts made national borders that have impact
culturally even today. The national borders that the astronaut’s tried to make are very visible
from the space. The brothers that Macleish saw in earth images are attacking each other all over
the world. The message of peace and better environmental conservation at times feel forgotten
but with the gift of Apollo, human unity is better
Another cultural impact of Apollo 13 mission is the perception by which scientist act as if the
moon is theirs whereas artist have inhibited it for long. The moon cannot be destroyed by rock
sampling or rocketry (Rapp, 13). Related to culture, is the image of Apollo astronaut. The image
is a suggestion of the mythology that astronauts were the best the Americans had.
The post-Apollo era is marked by reduction of human space exploration as weighed out by the
correct dollars from the federal government of the United States. With the challenge of taking
human beings to space, the government of America ended foreign policies that marked an end to
space age and relaxed tensions of the cold war between the Soviet Union and United States of
America. It led to emphasis of building human spaceflight infrastructures. The Apollo 13
mission gave way to Apollo’s exploration and it system belief where political and social beliefs
dominated United States policy (nickerson, 17)
The launching of the Apollo 13 spacecraft that took place at the Kennedy Space center on 11th
April 1970 had several cultural impact on the American people and its present culture. Most of
the cultural impacts arises from the technological advancement that were brought about by the
mission of Apollo’s. On the second day of the mission, an explosion occurred on the second
oxygen tank, disabling the service module leading to a serious accident (Woodfill, 21). The
explosion on that takes place is an awakening call to further advancement to prevent such
accidents in future. As a result of the explosion, the Apollo 13 space mission was cancelled and
the crew on earth was set to come up with divisive ways of ensuring that the astronaut's return
safely on earth. The team had to overcome overwhelming hardships caused by the loss of power
and water, lack of proper food and the freezing condition inside the space ship to land
successfully on earth, which is why the Apollo 13 was named a successful failure.
Works Cited
Dumoulin, Jim. "NASA Apollo Mission Apollo-13." Kennedy Space Center Science and
Technology Home Page. N.P., 9 June 2001. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.
Lovell, Jim. Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13. 1st ed. Vol. 1. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin, 1994. 378.
Messel, H., and Butler, S. T. Editors. Pioneering in Outer Space. London: Heinemann, 1971.
Nickerson, Cheryl A, Neal R. Pellis, and C M. Ott. Effect of Spaceflight and Spaceflight
Analogue Culture on Human and Microbial Cells: Novel Insights into Disease
Mechanisms. ,
2016. Internet resource.
Rapp, Rita M. Apollo 13 Mission Report (1970): 1-164. NASA. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.
Woodfill, Jerry. Apolo13"Houston, we’vegota Problem." (1970): 1-35. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.
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