Lunar Surface Journal - Part 3 - Getting out through the Hatch

Author: CaptainNemo
Title: Lunar Surface Journal - Part 3 - Getting out through the Hatch
Date: 12 May 2013

[The astronauts have disconnected their suits from the spacecraft’s life support system. Now their life support is solely provided by their PLSS backpacks. Prior to depressurizing the LM, they are starting a final pressure integrity check of their suits at the top of checklist page 2-10.]

119:04:15 Dennis: Okay; my suit is regulating at 3.5 psi.

119:04:43 Aaron: Mine cleared at 3.2. (Pause)

119:04:52 Dennis: Okay, Aaron. Let's do the integrity check.

[They will turn off each-others oxygen for one minute and watch the suit pressure decay due to small leaks, breathe-down, and flow into nooks and crannies in the suit. A decrease of 0.2 psi in one minute is normal and up to 0.3 psi is acceptable.]

119:04:54 Dennis: Okay. I'll get yours off.

[Dennis puts his gloved right hand on Aaron’s chest and turns down his oxygen regulator, a solid rotary valve integrated into the casing of the oxygen connector.]

119:04:57 Aaron: Let me see if I can get yours. I got it.

119:05:00 Dennis: Grabbing the wrong valve. There.

119:05:01 Aaron: Who me?

119:05:02 Dennis: Yeah. Don’t worry. This one.

[Dennis’ Memories: “I felt that Aaron was getting more excited from minute to minute. Being in the inflated suit, putting his hands on me in my suit and cutting off my oxygen was a very special experience for that kid.”]

119:05:03 Dennis: Okay, there's starting a minute. Houston, can you give us a mark at the end of a minute?

119:05:08 Houston: Roger. I started the clock when you said it was off.

119:05:15 Dennis: Okay, mine's off.

119:05:16 Aaron: mine is off. (Long Pause)

119:05:27 Aaron: Boy, my suit is tight as a drum, Dennis.

119:05:30 Dennis: Yeah, and mine's leaked about...It's gone down some. (Pause) Started at 3.82; it's down to about 3.72 now.

119:05:47 Aaron: Mine dropped about a tenth also. Boy, that feels good.

119:05:56 Dennis: Good.

119:06:04 Houston: Apollo 22, suit integrity check time elapsed. Over.

[Dennis’ Memories: “The integrity check shows that our space suits are tight and fully operational, and it boosts our self-confidence. I got a brief look of myself, using the small control mirror strapped on my left suit wrist. I saw my heavy glove, that solid metal wrist flange, and at the same time I saw my own mirror picture, grinning bearded and snoopy-capped out of the astronaut’s helmet, the sun visor still up. I thought: Man, that’s really yourself. Unbelievable! I felt very proud in my suit at that point. In a wave of pure joy, some pre-ejaculate dribbled into my UCD condom. I couldn’t do anything against it.“]
--


[After the pressure integrity check, they are ready for LM cabin depressurization, as per checklist 2-10.]

119:07:54 Houston: Okay, Romeo. We're Go for depress.

119:07:00 Dennis: Roger. Go for depress. (Pause)

[Aaron strains as he turns to face his circuit breaker panel, CB(16).]

119:07:18 Aaron: Okay. "Circuit breaker ECS."

119:07:20 Dennis: Okay.

119:07:26 Aaron: Okay, "Cabin Repress valve to Close".

119:07:28 Dennis: Okay, go.

119:07:30 Aaron: "Overhead dump valve Open and (then) Auto at 3-1/2."

119:07:46 Dennis: Okay.

119:07:47 Aaron: Here we go.

119:07:48 Dennis: Okay. That's 4 and 1/2, 4, 3 and 1/2 Mark.

[Because of the dropping cabin pressure, the relative pressure in the suits increases and the suits are ballooning. The astronauts will watch their cuff gauges to make sure that the suit pressure rises as expected. There is a relief valve in the suit which opens if the pressure rises into the range 4.8 to 5.5 psi.]

119:08:15 Aaron (excited): Oh boy, getting pretty stiff over here.

119:08:24 Dennis: That’s for sure.

[Dennis’ memories: “We were now getting exposed to the vacuum of space. I could feel Aaron’s level of excitement rising more and more. His normally cool and laid-back young men’s voice really cracked in his helmet mike in some situations, like that of a 16-year-old. We had spent many hours fully suited up together in training, hours of underwater EVA training, you know, and also in a vacuum chamber, but this time it was completely different. It was the real thing.“]

119:09:01 Aaron: Okay. “LM suit circuit locked up at 4.3." That's true.

119:09:08 Dennis: Okay, My pressure gauge is five.

119:09:11 Aaron: Mine is... ...four (point) nine. Coming down slowly. Okay. (Pause) Okay. Starting the watch. Go ahead, Dennis.

119:09:31 Dennis: Okay. We’re ready?

119:09:32 Aaron: Yeah.

[The EVA starts as soon as all cabin pressure has vented. Dennis and Aaron will use their watches to gauge the EVA elapsed time for comparison with the time markers in the cuff checklists. They are each wearing a specially manufactured, Tritium-illuminated military watch on a long strap that fits around the forearm.]

119:10:15 Dennis: Cabin pressure is down to 1 (psi).

119:10:20 Houston: Roger. We copy. (Pause)

119:10:29 Dennis: Okay; now, two minutes after we started that, we're supposed to be able to open the forward hatch.

119:10:36 Aaron: Well, we're down to five tenths. Four tenths.

119:10:46 Dennis: You gonna lock that overhead dump valve in Open position before we get out, Aaron.

119:10:07 Aaron: We got it. The overhead's in Open.

[If the hatch swung shut, with both valves closed, and there was a leak of oxygen into the cabin, they wouldn't be able to open the hatch until they bled the cabin pressure by opening the forward valve with a control mounted on the outside. Under normal circumstances, that wouldn't be a problem. If they were in a hurry because of a suit leak, they would be in trouble.]

119:10:09 Aaron: Okay, Dennis. It's two tenths; you ought to be able to open that beauty. (Pause) Here she comes.

[Dennis has to back up as far as possible and bend down to get the handle on the hatch.]

119:10:25 Dennis: Ain't coming open, though.

119:10:27 Aaron: You've got the handle down.

119:10:30 Dennis: (Straining) I know it. (Pause)

119:10:34 Aaron: There it is.

119:10:35 Dennis: Yeah, man.

119:10:36 Aaron (excited): Hatch is open, Houston. Look at that air...Look at that stuff stream out of there.

119:10:46 Dennis: Yeah.

[Aaron - "Dennis opened it and then the dust and debris and everything just streamed out the hatch. I mean, even though it was down to what we thought was a vacuum, it wasn't. The lunar module was still outgassing a lot. After the first EVA and from then on, it was even dirtier from the lunar dust."]

119:11:46 Aaron: Boy, we are ready to go out!

[After opening the hatch, the astronauts will have a brief look at the equipment they will take outside. Aaron will be the first to get out, within a few minutes from now, he will put his feet on the lunar surface, being the youngest human on the moon so far. His medical data, especially his heart rate, shows clear signs of his extreme excitement now.]

119:11:53 Dennis: Your tool harness is in place?

119:11:59 Aaron: Yeah (garbled).

119:12:03 Dennis: Equipment transfer bag is ready.

119:12:07 Aaron: Okay.

119:12:12 Houston: Romeo, Houston. Over.

119:12:17 Dennis: Houston, Romeo. What’s up.

119:12:24 Houston: We’re sorry guys, we must put you on hold for some minutes. We have to re-configure our high-gain antenna array, due to atmospheric noise. We will have a Comm Break for four to five minutes, and then resume normal operations.

119:12:40 Dennis: Okay. Aaron looks a bit disappointed in his helmet, he can’t wait any longer!

119:12:48 Houston: Try to relax and spare some of your strength. Your EVA will become exhausting.

119:12:53 Dennis: Okay.
--

[Begin of Comm Break]

119:13:10 Aaron: Boy, my dick … hope I’ll get through that hatch.

119:13:16 Dennis: Makes me worrying, too…

119:13:22 Aaron: Perhaps we should get a release before?

119:13:33 Dennis: Oh no, let’s keep that for the surface. You’ll probably never have that opportunity again.

119:13:45 Aaron: I see. It will be very special during our first EVA.

119:13:53 Dennis: And intense with that amount of spared juice. Let’s keep it and calm down.

119:14:00 Aaron (laughing): Okay, you’re the commander.

[Aaron’s memories: “We both knew that getting out through the narrow LM hatch would become very difficult, restricted not only by our suits, but also by our hard dicks. When the Comm Disruption occurred, we contemplated about quickly shooting our loads, in order to increase our mobility in the upcoming egress procedure. From the moment we got helmeted and pressurized, we were both shortly before J/O all the time, and we both knew that. We could be at our personal critical point very quickly and then spend a very powerful load into the UCDs. That would give us a relaxed moonwalk, but it would also have taken the opportunity for an incredible, massive J/O out in the lunar landscape from us. I think we both absolutely wanted that unique experience. That’s why we tried to keep disciplined, and to calm down.”]
--

[End of Comm Break]

119:19:22 Aaron (excited): Okay, Houston, are we ready to get out? We're ready to get out.

119:19:28 Dennis: Yeah. (Pause)

119:19:31 Houston: Okay. Let's go.

119:19:34 Dennis: Okay, why don't you go out, Aaron?

[Aaron and Dennis fill virtually the whole forward part of the cabin now that their suits are inflated. Aaron is about to start the intricate process of getting out the hatch. He has to face left and get down on his knees. He then maneuvers himself to his left to get his feet pointing out the hatch. He will then move his legs out, gradually lowering his torso toward the floor so that he can crawl out backwards. There isn't much room - fore and aft - and it takes patient effort to get out.]

119:19:40 Aaron: Got to get my PLSS antenna, right?

119:19:42 Dennis: No, not now. That comes later. (Pause) Okay, check your feet out. Okay, your PLSS is partially over the hatch frame. Come this way a little bit. Okay. You've got your PLSS hung up. Your right corner is on the door over there. Throw your rear end to...There you go! You got it. (Long Pause)

119:20:30 Aaron (breathing heavily): Okay. I'm getting down on my knees out here. How am I looking, Dennis?

[Aaron – “My suit was still tightly inflated, considerable above its normal working pressure, so it took me much more effort to move my arms, legs and fingers. In that one-sixth environment it is even more difficult to bend the suit. Down on Earth with one g you have the weight helping you and the weight of the PLSS. But, up there, it is just your own strength. So we are rattling around a little bit; but it works.”]

119:20:57 Dennis: You're just fine. I'm holding you away from the control console.

119:21:15 Aaron: How are my legs? Am I getting out?

119:21:17 Dennis: Well, I don't know. I can't see your legs.

119:21:19 Aaron: Oh, okay. (Laughs)

119:21:22 Dennis: Oh, hey, Aaron, when I get down there, I got to fix your tool harness (on the PLSS). Hold it.

119:21:32 Aaron: Okay. Can you reach it?

119:21:33 Dennis:Yeah.

119:21:44 Aaron: Okay. Well, my legs are out. Keep the hatch open.

119:22:06 Dennis: Okay. Now, be careful because you might hook it on something down there.

119:22:21 Aaron: (To himself) Okay. I'm still reading 4.0 (psi).

119:22:30 Dennis: Okay. And I'll have an Equipment Transfer Bag (ETB) ready for you. Looks like a Santa Claus bag.

[The Equipment Transfer Bag (ETB) is a soft-sided, padded bag about the size of a piece of luggage. It is used for the transfer of tools and other hardware between the LM cabin and the lunar surface.]

119:22:44 Aaron: I got it. And, the suit pressure looks like it's started to stabilize at 3.8. I don't know whether I'm getting cooler or not, but I feel pretty good.

119:22:59 Houston: Okay. We copy that.

119:24:10 Aaron: I’m now through the hatch with my helmet.

119:24:14 Houston: Okay.

119:24:30 Aaron: Houston; I'm standing (actually, he's kneeling) now out on the porch. I've got the ETB in one hand, and I’m just looking around here. My god, what a view! I can see the mountains and one of the big boulders we crossed when we landed!

[Aaron – “Since that moment when my head got through the hatch I had the feeling of really being on the moon. I was still on that porch and ladder structure, attached to the LM’s outside like an airstair. I still had to climb down the ladder. But I was now completely outside the spacecraft’s cabin and there was only my space suit between me and the landscape around. I was so overwhelmed that I only thought, Boy, you are 28 years, and you are on the moon!”]
--