APOD: Apollo 13 Views of the Moon (2020 Mar 03)

[APOD Robot]

Apollo 13 Views of the Moon

Explanation: What if the only way to get back to Earth was to go around the far side of the Moon? Such was the dilemma of the Apollo 13 Crew in 1970 as they tried to return home in their unexpectedly damaged spacecraft. With the Moon in the middle, their perilous journey substituted spectacular views of the lunar farside for radio contact with NASA's Mission Control. These views have now been digitally recreated from detailed images of the Moon taken by the robotic Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The featured video starts by showing Earth disappear behind a dark lunar limb, while eight minutes later the Sun rises around the opposite side of the Moon and begins to illuminate the Moon's unusual and spectacularly cratered surface. Radio contact was only re-established several minutes after that, as a crescent Earth rose into view. With the gravity of the Moon and the advice of many industrious NASA engineers and scientists, a few days later Apollo 13 opened its parachutes over the Pacific Ocean and landed safely back on Earth.

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[jks]

Does Mount Marilyn appear in the video? I don't see it, but I may have missed it.

[RocketRon]

Wouldn't all of the Apollo missions had to fly something along that path ??

[sillyworm 2]

WOW! Takes my breath away.Eerily Beautiful.

[orin stepanek]

What an incredible journey these astronauts had! Glad they got home safely! 🥰

[Jy C]

But where are the stars?? Better with it to feel like a astronaut, no?!

[Chris Peterson]

But where are the stars?? Better with it to feel like a astronaut, no?!

You're not going to see stars in a photograph that is exposed to capture the Moon. They're not bright enough.

[Guest]

These images are not from Apollo 13 but are from a recent satellite circling the Moon. So why create a fake headline? Do you have to trick people into watching this cool video? How pathetic.

[Chris Peterson]

These images are not from Apollo 13 but are from a recent satellite circling the Moon. So why create a fake headline? Do you have to trick people into watching this cool video? How pathetic.

The headline accurately describes the video, which was created to show the view that Apollo astronauts had as they orbited behind the Moon. And the caption explains that clearly.

[Fred the Cat]

Cost and the need to focus on other difficult issues played a role in not establishing a system of real-time communication back in the Apollo days.

Will that need re-emerge for modern lunar exploration I suspect the process will still need to deal with the moon's lumpiness.

[Chris Peterson]

Cost and the need to focus on other difficult issues played a role in not establishing a system of real-time communication back in the Apollo days.

Will that need re-emerge for modern lunar exploration :?: I suspect the process will still need to deal with the moon's lumpiness. :-?

While it is difficult to maintain satellites in long term orbits around the Moon, it is also cheap and easy to launch them into orbit if you do it from the Moon. If we had a lab operating on the lunar farside, that would be a definite option.

[roberto_nesci]

Wouldn't all of the Apollo missions had to fly something along that path ??

As far as I understand, Apollo 13 made a polar trip around the Moon, while the other missions were in equatorial orbit to allow an easy landing and rendez-vous of the LEM.

[DL MARTIN]

Three things:

1. A salutation to Michael Collins, the first human to venture behind the Moon - alone. Can't imagine such isolation.

2.Is that an illustration of the increased crater incidence on the far side or just increased sun illumination on the near side?

3. Having been around for the entire space program, I very much appreciated this presentation. Almost like being there.

[RocketRon]

As far as I understand, Apollo 13 made a polar trip around the Moon, while the other missions were in equatorial orbit to allow an easy landing and rendez-vous of the LEM.

Wouldn't all of those still had to orbit around the 'far side' of the moon though ?

[RocketRon]

While it is difficult to maintain satellites in long term orbits around the Moon, it is also cheap and easy to launch them into orbit if you do it from the Moon. If we had a lab operating on the lunar farside, that would be a definite option.

Don't the Chinese currently have a satellite 'behind' the moon, to communicate with their rover thats currently operating there.

[Chris Peterson]

While it is difficult to maintain satellites in long term orbits around the Moon, it is also cheap and easy to launch them into orbit if you do it from the Moon. If we had a lab operating on the lunar farside, that would be a definite option.

Don't the Chinese currently have a satellite 'behind' the moon, to communicate with their rover thats currently operating there.

Yes. Behind as in orbiting the Earth-Moon L2 point, not orbiting the Moon at all. L2 isn't stable, so the relay craft needs to expend fuel to stay in position.