Question: Since it was so cold on the return journey to Earth, why didn't the astronauts wear their full space suits they wore on lift-off to keep warm? The just seem to be wearing their lightweight flight overalls.
raywest
22nd Jan 2021
Apollo 13 (1995)
Answer: According to Jim Lovell in a later interview about the mission, the crew considered putting on their space suits but in addition to them being too bulky, there was concern the suits would make them perspire too much, thus making them wet and even colder. It wasn't quite as cold as depicted in the movie, it was always above freezing, and there were no icy windows or frozen hot dogs.
According to Lovell in his book, there actually were frozen hot dogs.
Answer: In addition, since they have to leave the ship after landing, the suit filling with water would be very dangerous.
The launch abort mode was for an ocean landing, so they would have been just as vulnerable at the start of the mission. I get your line of thinking though.
Answer: Don't remember the source (the actual movie or one of many books) but I do remember there were only two moon suits on board (the CMP, Swigert, doesn't land on the moon). I believe they decided to suffer together. I misread the question, but the option for wearing the Lunar EVA suits was considered. IIRC, they did actually wear the boots at one point.
3rd Jul 2020
Apollo 13 (1995)
Question: Was the atmosphere and splash landing as dramatic as shown in the movie?
Answer: Naturally the movie ramps up the drama, but it was a fairly accurate depiction. The radio blackout lasted a little longer than depicted in the film due to the shallow angle of the ship's reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. Also, the first communication from the capsule was not from Jim Lovell and was from Jack Swiggert, who said, "Okay, Joe." The amount of condensation shown inside the capsule was also accurate.
27th Jan 2020
Apollo 13 (1995)
Question: Did the scene where the astronauts take off their bio-med sensors really happen?
Answer: According to transcripts of the actual mission's audio recordings, yes. Though the movie can be lauded for its extent of accuracy, it still has moments of artistic license. In the transcripts, the last reference to BIOMED is between Cap Comm (CC) and Jim Lovell (CDR). CC: "The other thing is, if anyone has on any BIOMED, would you switch your switch to __ your BIOMED switch to that position." CDR: "Understand the first, Vance, and no-one has on any BIOMED__." CC: "Okay." CDR: "Fred and Jack are maneuvering things around right now, and mine is long since departed the scene."
23rd Apr 2019
Apollo 13 (1995)
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Answer: Because they need to be able to move quickly through the confined space of the module, and the full suits would be far too bulky in an emergency.
The older Apollo missions all splashed down with full suits and helmet on. Just the launch suits, not the much bulkier EVA (moon walk) suits.
stiiggy