General Question Apollo 12 Life Support

Mandella

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I'm having a "failure to get good google results moment," and I imagine a lot of you guys know the answer to this question right off.

How long, assuming low activity and no other extreme factors, was the life support rated to last per man within both the Lander and Command Module (still attached to the Service Module)?
 

Mandella

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From a quick scan, it looks like power would have been a problem before air, assuming no other issues....
 

Quick_Nick

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Makes sense. The whole setup is pretty good if you haven't landed yet. Apollo 13 lost all SM oxygen, lost much ability to generate electricity, and had to deal with CO2
From Apollo 13 Wikipedia page:
The LM "lifeboat" consumables were intended to sustain two people for only two days, not three people for four days. Oxygen was the least critical consumable because the LM carried enough to repressurize the LM after each surface EVA. Unlike the CSM, which was powered by fuel cells that produced water as a byproduct, the LM was powered by silver-zinc batteries, so electrical power and water (used for equipment cooling as well as drinking) were critical consumables. To keep the LM life support and communication systems operational until re-entry, the LM was powered down to the lowest levels possible.
So water for drinking and power for heating could be limiting factors if all you want is to keep the astronauts alive. You'll want at least enough oxygen and hydrogen in the SM for power ideally, but I don't think that's very much.
 
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