statisticsnerd
Active member
Let's say the lunar lander had already made it to the surface of the Moon, and the explosion occurred in the service module while Swigert was waiting for Lovell and Haise to return.
I was wondering about a few things.
1. Would Lovell and Haise, knowing that they were doomed anyway, open the hatch of the LM and take off their spacesuit helmets? That way if another mission was sent to that site later on, they would find the bodies and be able to provide a proper burial. If they had ascended to the CSM and died, the CSM would eventually lose orbit and crash into a thousand pieces. None of their bodies would be recovered.
2. Assuming Lovell and Haise died on the lunar surface, how well would their bodies have been preserved? The Moon is very cold, so it seems like any bacteria in their bodies wouldn't be able to propagate.
3. Would NASA have sent up a mission to bury the bodies? I know it would have been expensive, but it would have been the respectful thing to do. Also, they could have conducted additional experiments in the area to justify the cost of the mission.
I was wondering about a few things.
1. Would Lovell and Haise, knowing that they were doomed anyway, open the hatch of the LM and take off their spacesuit helmets? That way if another mission was sent to that site later on, they would find the bodies and be able to provide a proper burial. If they had ascended to the CSM and died, the CSM would eventually lose orbit and crash into a thousand pieces. None of their bodies would be recovered.
2. Assuming Lovell and Haise died on the lunar surface, how well would their bodies have been preserved? The Moon is very cold, so it seems like any bacteria in their bodies wouldn't be able to propagate.
3. Would NASA have sent up a mission to bury the bodies? I know it would have been expensive, but it would have been the respectful thing to do. Also, they could have conducted additional experiments in the area to justify the cost of the mission.