The Science in the movie Apollo 13

The Science in the movie Apollo 13

What science lessons can we learn from this movie?

Apollo Program History & Background

• The Apollo program was designed to land humans on the Moon and bring them safely back to Earth

• 1963 - 1972.

• President John F. Kennedy gave the United States the mission to have "man land on the moon" before the end of the decade.

• Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 missions DID LAND on the moon

• Apollo 13 did not land on the moon due to a malfunction

The tragedy of Apollo 1

*At 1 p.m. on Friday, 27 January 1967 the crew of Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee were killed in a fire in the Apollo Command Module during a preflight test at Cape Canaveral. 

*Oxygen rich atmosphere inside the cabin

*Short circuit sparked a fire

*Hatch door only opened inward and took too long to open

How did the Apollo get into space?

Answer: The Apollo module was mounted to a Saturn rocket and one by one the different parts were cut loose or "jettisoned" away before returning to Earth.

Let's see how that worked

Quote "We just put Sir Isaac Newton in the driver's seat." - Jim Lovell

Spoken at the moment they shut down the engines on Apollo

What did that mean?

Newton's 1st Law says "A body in motion stays in motion... unless acted upon by an unbalanced force."

That means however fast they were moving at the moment of shutdown, they would continue at that same speed and in a straight line until another force changed their speed or their direction.

This allowed them to save their power for later.

How did they change directions in space?

• Newton's 3rd Law

• For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction

Changing directions in Space

• Newton's 3rd Law - ACTION and REACTION

• To move forward and right, an engine at the back and left side would have to be ignited.

• An engine on the OPPOSITE side had to be used to push the spacecraft in the direction they wanted to go.

Movie Questions

• Do you know the crew names?

• Jim Lovell - Commander

• Fred Haise

• Jack Swigert - Pilot

Multiple Choice

When did man first step on the moon?

• April 1st 1970

• April 11th 1970

• April 11th 1971

• April 1st 1971

Multiple Choice

CM stands for

• Captain's Module

• Command Module

Multiple Choice

LM stands for

• Lunar Moon

• Lunar Module

Multiple Choice

What mainly alerted crew to the fact that an oxygen tank had exploded?

• They heard a sharp bang and a vibration.

• There were water droplets on the walls, ceiling and floor.

• They saw the fuel leaking out of the spacecraft.

• The tank reached 200 psi.

Multiple Choice

Where did they land on April 17th?

• In the Antartica

• In the desert

• In the Pacific Ocean

Multiple Select

Why did they move to the Lunar Module? (Pick 2)

• The Command Module was damaged.

• There was air only for 15 minutes.

• It was more comfortable.

• They had a better view from there.

Multiple Choice

How many astronauts were there in space ?

• 1

• 2

• 3

• 4

Multiple Choice

Where does the crew dispose of the human waste in the space craft?

• In the trash can

• in a bottle

• in outer space

Multiple Choice

How many Amps over is Mattingly in the re-entry sequence?

• 4

• 20

• 10

• 15

Multiple Choice

How much weight does the crew need to add to the craft before re-entry?

• 200 lbs

• 80 lbs

• 100 lbs

• none

Multiple Choice

Who takes over a pilot after Mattingly is told he can't go on the mission?

• Jim Lovell

• Fred Haise

• Gene Kranz

• Jack Swigert

Multiple Choice

What is the poisonous gas the crew has to create a filter for?

• oxygen

• nitrogen

• helium

• carbon dioxide

Multiple Choice

Why didn't the news cover the launch if Apollo 13?

• They had the wrong date.

• They thought it was boring.

• NASA would not allow cameras.

Multiple Choice

What was the cause of the explosion?

• stirring the oxygen tanks

• a meteor strike

• a power failure

• too much fuel

Multiple Choice

Who was President of the United States that gave the nation this important mission to put man on the moon?

• Obama

• Nixon

• Johnson

• Kennedy

Multiple Choice

Who was President of the United States during this mission?

• Obama

• Nixon

• Johnson

• Kennedy

Multiple Choice

What where the conditions in the space craft?

• hot

• dark

• cold

• freezing

Multiple Choice

What was venting from the space craft after the explosion?

• Carbon dioxide

• nitrogen

• waste

• oxygen

Multiple Choice

Why didn't Ken Mattingly go on the mission as planned?

• They thought he would get the measles.

• No one liked him.

• He made too many mistakes.

• He was not an astronaut.

Multiple Choice

Who said, "Houston, we have a problem"

• Jack Swigert

• Gene Kranz (Flight)

• Jim Lovell

• Fred Haise

Multiple Choice

How long did Jim say it would take to get to the moon?

• 4 days

• 7 days

• 1 month

• 2 weeks

Multiple Choice

How long did the Apollo 13 mission last?

• 6 months

• 7 days

• 4 days

• 30 days

Gravity of Earth and Moon

Earth has gravity

Moon has gravity

The Apollo was first launched into orbit around the Earth, kept in place by Earth's gravity

• A thrust of the engine was needed to push the craft OUT of the Earth's orbit and on a path toward the moon

As Apollo 13 approached the Moon, it was grabbed by the Moon's gravity and went into orbit around the Moon.

• A thrust of the engine was needed to push the craft OUT of the Moon's orbit and on a path back home to Earth!

Communications Blackout during Re-Entry

• Occurs when passing back into the Earth's atmosphere

• No instruments can be read, no voice communications

Communications Blackout

• lasts around 3 minutes

• Occurs when passing through the THERMOSPHERE layer of the atmosphere which is REALLY HOT!!!

• The plasma hot layer is the reason the Apollo capsules needed a HEAT SHIELD

Moon's Surface Features

• There are impact craters, which were formed when an asteroids or comets collided with the Moon's surface. Unlike Earth, the moon has NO ATMOSPHERE.

• A blanket of ejecta is formed during the formation of meteor impact cratering and is composed usually of the materials of that are ejected from the cratering process.

• Dead volcanos and lava flows from the early history of the Moon

• Early scientists thought the dark stretches of the moon might be oceans ...hence, "Ocean of Storms"

Apollo missions landed on the Moon

• Apollo 11

  Landed on Moon 20 July 1969

  Sea of Tranquility

• Apollo 12

  Landed on Moon 19 November 1969

  Ocean of Storms

• Just to name a few.

Multiple Choice

Mission Control is located in what city?

• Orlando

• Texas

• Washington D.C.

• Houston

Multiple Choice

Which crew member of Apollo 13 had a wife who was pregnant back home?

• Buz Lightyear

• Neil Armstrong

• Jim Lovell

• Fred Haise

Multiple Choice

Who was the commander of Apollo 13?

• Buz Lightyear

• Neil Armstrong

• Jim Lovell

• Fred Haise