• Question: Is Apollo 13 realistic?

    Asked by Matacton to Camilla, Dan, Katie, Mike, Rhys on 17 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: Katie Sparks

      Katie Sparks answered on 17 Jun 2015:

      Apollo 13 is based on real events – those astronauts having to fix things and do calculations without a computer or calculator – that’s certainly true. As is the bit where the astronaut who didn’t go helped from the ground by trying things out.
      I think that actually makes it scary – can you imagine relying on your intelligence and some good luck to get you home? I don’t know about you, but when I get scared all complicated thoughts go straight out of my head.
      That’s why being an astronaut is so hard!

    • Photo: Camilla Weiss

      Camilla Weiss answered on 17 Jun 2015:

      Even though so many things went wrong on that mission and they didn’t get to land on the moon Apollo 13 is still seen as one of NASA’s most successful missions. This is because of the awesome effort, ideas and solutions thought up by all the engineers on the ground which brought the astronauts safely home. It’s pretty amazing considering the technology used back then. Your phone is more powerful than the computers they were using back then!

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