How did Apollo 11 get back to Earth with no fuel?

How did Apollo 11 get back to Earth with no fuel?

The TLI placed Apollo on a “free-return trajectory” – often illustrated as a figure of eight shape. This course would have harnessed the power of the Moon’s gravity to propel the spacecraft back to Earth without the need for more rocket fuel.

How did the Apollo 13 astronauts get back to Earth?

All three took refuge in Aquarius and, abandoning Moon landing plans, looped around the Moon, using the LM’s engine to speed their return to Earth instead of landing them on the lunar surface.

How did Apollo 12 get back to Earth?

Lunar Module Intrepid lifted off from the Moon on November 20 and docked with the command module, which subsequently traveled back to Earth. The Apollo 12 mission ended on November 24 with a successful splashdown.

How long did it take to get back to Earth from the Moon?

It took the Apollo 11 astronauts three days, three hours and 49 minutes to reach the moon, but they returned in two days, 22 hours and 56 minutes. What explains part of the difference?

What problem did Apollo 13 face while returning back to Earth?

The astronauts and mission control were faced with enormous logistical problems in stabilizing the spacecraft and its oxygen supply, as well as running on batteries due to the loss of the fuel cells to allow successful reentry into Earth’s atmosphere.

What happens if astronauts run out of fuel?

If you run out of fuel once out of the orbit of Earth, you will continue to move really fast because there is no friction in space. Your path will be bent by the gravity of everything, but only nearby (think inside the solar system) and massive (think the Sun, Earth, Jupiter, etc.)

Did Apollo 13 astronauts survive?

The command module of Apollo 13 entered Earth’s atmosphere and splashed down on target on April 17 at 1:07 PM Eastern Standard Time. The mission has been referred to as a successful failure, in that all the crew members survived a catastrophic accident.

How long did Apollo 13 go without sleep?

3.5 Apollo 13 During the second period, the Commander, Command Module Pilot, and Lunar Module Pilot slept 5, 6, and 9 hours, respectively. The third sleep period was scheduled for 61 hours, but the orygen tank incident at 56 hours precluded sleep by any of the crew until approximately 80 hours.

Why did Apollo 13 take 4 minutes to re enter?

Due to a shallower re-entry path, Apollo 13’s blackout was calculated to last about 4.5 minutes. Flight director Gene Kranz’s logs show that it took about 6 minutes to re-establish contact with Apollo 13. Telemetry was usually the first signal received after the blackout.

Who are the 12 astronauts who walked on the Moon still alive?

Four of America’s moonwalkers are still alive: Aldrin (Apollo 11), David Scott (Apollo 15), Charles Duke (Apollo 16), and Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17).

How did Saturn 5 get back to Earth?

The Service Module: Housed a liquid-fuel rocket engine propulsion system which astronauts used to steer the spacecraft toward the Moon, place it into lunar orbit, and propel it back toward Earth.

How long did it take Apollo 13 to reenter the earth?

The command module, with the astronauts inside, continued onward, entered Earth’s atmosphere, and splashed down on target on April 17 at 1:07 pm Eastern Standard Time, 142 hours 54 minutes 41 seconds from the time the huge Saturn V had roared to life. The astronauts had no lasting ill effects from their ordeal.

What was left on the moon?

Some of it is waste from the trip that the astronauts dumped when they got to their destination. Aside from trash—from food packaging to wet wipes—nearly 100 packets of human urine and excrement have been discarded. The Apollo astronauts also dumped tools and television equipment that they no longer needed.

How long did humans stay on the moon?

Armstrong and Aldrin spent 21 hours, 36 minutes on the moon’s surface. After a rest period that included seven hours of sleep, the ascent stage engine fired at 124 hours, 22 minutes.

How many countries have walked on the moon?

To date, only one country has succeeded in landing humans on the moon: the United States of America. As part of the Apollo space program, the United States has landed a total of 12 astronauts.

What actually went wrong with Apollo 13?

The Apollo 13 malfunction was caused by an explosion and rupture of oxygen tank no. 2 in the service module. The explosion ruptured a line or damaged a valve in the no. 1 oxygen tank, causing it to lose oxygen rapidly.

How much water do astronauts drink per day?

Small amounts of water are recycled from cabin air onboard the ISS, and the astronauts limit water use to only about three gallons (11 liters) per day.

Who solved the Apollo 13 problem?

It’s the story of the engine that brought those astronauts home, and the chemist who invented it. On April 13, 1970, Gerard Elverum’s pintle injector rocket engine fired for 34 seconds to put the damaged Apollo 13 spacecraft on a safe path back to Earth.

How did Apollo 11 survive reentry?

Once safely away, the Command Module would re-orient itself so that the heat shield was in the forward-facing position, prepared to absorb the brunt of the impact of re-entering Earth’s atmosphere while protecting the astronauts inside.

How many seconds of fuel was left in Apollo 11?

However, post mission analysis showed that sloshing in the fuel tank during Armstrong’s search for a safe landing site caused the fuel gauge to give an inaccurate reading. Eagle actually had about 45 seconds of fuel left when it touched down.

Did Apollo 11 run out of gas?

Time was running out. The Apollo 11 lunar module was on its historic descent to the moon’s crater-pocked surface on 20 July 1969 when a fuel light blinked on. Still 100ft (30 metres) above the ground, it was not what the astronauts needed. The Eagle’s tank was nearly dry.

How did they get oxygen on Apollo 11?

The atmosphere in the Apollo spacecraft was 100% oxygen, at a pressure of five pounds per square inch. The oxygen system constantly added fresh oxygen to the cabin to replenish that breathed by the crew. Carbon dioxide exhaled by the astronauts was removed by canisters of lithium hydroxide, like this one.