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Apollo 13 Command Module LiOH Canister Signed by James Lovell

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:6,000.00 - 8,000.00 USD
Apollo 13 Command Module LiOH Canister Signed by James Lovell

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Auction Date:2020 Apr 16 @ 18:00 (UTC-05:00 : EST/CDT)
Location:15th Floor WeWork, Boston, Massachusetts, 02108, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
Apollo Command Module LiOH Canister, 7.25? x 7.25? x 5.25?, signed on the side in black felt tip, “A real life saver! James Lovell, Apollo 8, 13.” The same side also bears an affixed Airesearch label, which reads: “Absorber Element CO2, Part 813540-3-1, Serial 79-653, Order NAS-9-150, NASA 004000079653, Ref Spec ME901-0218-0061." The side is stamp-dated November 6, 1969. Housed in its original plastic packaging. In fine condition. Also known as a carbon dioxide absorber element, or scrubber, the lithium hydroxide canister was designed to maintain a pure-oxygen environment within the Apollo spacecraft; utilized as part of the Environmental Control Unit (ECU), two LiOH canisters were concurrently used, and alternately changed every 12 hours, to help absorb carbon dioxide. In fine condition.

This type of LiOH canister was made famous by the Apollo 13 mission, when the astronauts were forced to move into the Lunar Module Aquarius for the majority of the flight. Having exhausted the capacity of the LM LiOH canisters, the canisters of the Command Module Odyssey were required. However, when the crew discerned that the box-shaped CM canisters would not fit into the cylindrical-shaped LM openings, the engineers at Mission Control began brainstorming. In short time the team worked out a solution comprised of plastic bags, plastic-coated cue cards from a three-ring reference binder, hoses from the lunar spacesuits, and lots of gray duct tape. They then carefully radioed instructions to the astronauts in space, and after about an hour, the new device, although not very elegant, worked perfectly.