Posted by “I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don’t let anybody tell you different.” -Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut may have it right for most of us, but not all of us spend all of our time on Earth. A select dozen of us, in fact, have made it, as Cat Power would sing, to
Image credit: Apollo 15, Dave Scott, NASA.
Back in 1971, the Apollo 15 astronauts made huge strides in space exploration, making use of the first manned lunar rover and spending over 18 hours on activities outside of the spacecraft. But two (of the three) crew members experienced heartbeat irregularities on the mission, and the cause was unknown. This was the first time such irregularities were observed in Apollo astronauts, and NASA was, understandably, unhappy about this. Their biomedical research team initially concluded (incorrectly) that it was likely due to a potassium deficiency, and so some modifications were made to the astronauts’ diets for the next mission.
A modification, mind you, that would change the place in history of one astronaut forever.
Image credit: NASA, Apollo 10 official astronaut photo.
Astronaut John Young is one of the most decorated astronauts in history. With an astronaut career spanning more than 40 years, he flew twice, each, on Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle missions, including the inaugural STS-1 shuttle flight.
But John Young also was a crew member aboard Apollo 16, where he would become the ninth person to walk on the Moon. Oh, and where he was compelled to indulge in a diet very, very high in potassium. In particular, in the form of orange juice.
Image credit: NASA / Science Source / Science Photo Library.
Now, John Young had a history with particularities about food. He became something of an astronaut folk hero for smuggling a corned beef sandwich on board Gemini-3 in 1965, but was wholly unprepared for the ingestion of such tremendous quantities of orange juice.
Or, rather, for the effect that said orange juice would have on his body. And NASA was duly unprepared for the effect that would have on John Young’s language.
While I imagine that there are few astronaut experiences worse than dutch ovening yourself inside your own spacesuit, you can also imagine that the governor of Florida was not too pleased at a mic’d up diatribe against the signature crop of his state. Words, in fact, that John Young would have to answer for in an official Apollo 16 press conference:
May 12, 2012
Great piece of less known history of moon missions! Thanx for posting this.
May 12, 2012
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May 14, 2012
