In 1970, the world stopped to root for the Apollo 13 crew.
It was a week filled with nail-biting tension.
If something can go wrong, it will usually be at the worst time.
It looked like Apollo 13 had been hit by Murphy s law.
Fortunately, the extraordinary ability of the crew and mission control team saved their lives.
Things remained quite monotonous at first until on April 13, when everything changed.
Theteamwas performing a routine procedure in the service module tank when they heard an explosion.
Astronauts noticed gas leaking It was oxygen.
Soon, they realized they would never step onthe Moon.
They were disappointed who wouldnt be?
But worse than watching their dream fade away was having to fight for survival.
After the explosion, they had to move to the landing module, using it as a lifeboat.
Besides that, they had a problem removing carbon dioxide.
The square lithium hydroxide canisters were not compatible with the round openings in the landing module system.
To solve this problem, mission control had to be quick and creative.
Using duct tape and other materials, they built anapparatusthat the crew could copy.
Mission control did not rest until they found a way to safely bring the spacecraft back to the Earth.
They used the Aquarius decent engine to place the ship on a return path, passing behind the moon.
The service module, damaged by the explosion, was removed.
On April 17, the capsule reentered Earths atmosphere, and the astronauts landed safely in the Pacific Ocean.
How can we use Apollo s 13 lessons to overcome the coronavirus pandemic?
With thecoronavirus, we can all feel the same level of uncertainty that the team did.
Were experiencing a new, challenging and unexpected situation.
No nation was prepared for this.
Intriguing ideas
We are not recommending any of these ideas or inventions.
These are just a few examples of unique thinking.
Creative inventions are beginning to show promising possibilities.
They are designed for use together with protective masks.
Using 3D printers, a variety of models are beinglaunched.
The concept is pretty simple: open doors without having to touch them with your hands.
In China,robotsare delivering food to people in quarantine to avoid contact.
Not touching your face is not that easy, right?This websitewas created to help you with that.
It uses a machine-learning algorithm to recognize images of each user touching their face, or not.
Once its trained, it sends you notifications every time you touch your face.
Supporting healthcare workers, giving them more time to treat patients is a good thing.
NASA had to make quick decisions to overcome alife or death situation.
In some ways, it is not much different from what were facing right now.
That same spirit can bring us together to help us save thousands of lives while facing this global challenge.
This article was originally published onThe Cosmic Companionby Dr. Ana Luiza Dias.
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