― Henry David Thoreau, Walden
It's finally warm enough for Jack to swim in the lake! “A lake is a landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is Earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.” ― Henry David Thoreau, Walden
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But Outer Space But outer Space, At least this far, For all the fuss Of the populace Stays more popular Than populous -Robert Frost- Related Posts: In 1995, Ron Howard made a film which provides a fictionalized account of NASA's ill-fated Apollo 13 mission to the moon in 1970, called appropriately enough, Apollo 13. The screenplay was based on the book Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage Of Apollo 13 which was co-written by Jeffrey Kluger and Jim Lovell, the mission's commander. In the film, Lovell is played by Tom Hanks, and the excellent cast is rounded out by Gary Sinise, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxon, and Ed Harris. Paxton and Bacon play Fred Haise and Jack Swigert, the other two members of the Apollo 13 crew. Sinise is Ken Mattingly, who was originally supposed to go on the mission but was replaced by Swigert after he was exposed to the measles virus. As most know, three days into the moon mission disaster occurs when one of Apollo 13's oxygen tanks explodes, emptying into space and damaging the other tank which begins leaking. This prompts the famous line, "Houston, we have a problem." It also makes it necessary to abort the moon mission, as it's doubtful that they'll even have enough air to make it back to earth from where they are. It is necessary to abandon the Apollo and move to the lunar module Aquarius for the trip back. Besides the dwindling supply of oxygen, they also have to worry about the cold- not just its physical effects, but what problems ice forming on instruments will cause. They also have to figure out how to restart the command module's cold engine to reenter the earth's atmosphere. As the drama plays out in space, one also plays out on the ground as the scientists at NASA scramble to come up with solutions to the rising carbon dioxide levels and the engine problems, using only the items which they know the astronauts have on board with them. They are fiercely determined not to give up the men as lost, despite the seemingly insurmountable difficulties. The third front which the movie depicts is that of the families of the Apollo astronauts who gather together to watch the coverage and offer each other what comfort they can. The life and death struggle which is occurring far above the earth has people all over the western world transfixed, but for these few the drama is intensely personal and potentially tragic. As time and oxygen runs dangerously low, the tension is ratcheted up both on the ground and in space as the module hurtles towards the earth. When it becomes known that the three men have survived reentry and their landing in the Pacific, cheers of relief and triumph break out in the control room of NASA, which moments before had been tense and preternaturally silent. The families of the three astronauts are perhaps less exuberant but very obviously overcome with relief and joy. Related Posts:I'm thankful that all the fathers in my family are men of integrity, good husbands, and caring, responsible parents. "One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters." -George Herbert
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