Drilling Troubles

Post-EVA-1 Activities

 

Return to the LM and EVA-1 Closeout

Corrected Transcript and Commentary Copyright © 1996 by Eric M. Jones.
All rights reserved.
Scan credits in the Image Library
Last revised 6 August 2016.

MP3 Audio Clip ( 4 min 38 sec ) by David Shaffer

[At 125:39:39, Joe told them that, once back at the LM, they should start with the checklist procedures at 6 plus 28, which are on checklist pages CDR-28 and LMP-29. Dave starts by getting the ETB and putting it at his seat so that he can pack away all the used film magazines. Jim is organizing the contents of the Sample Collection Bags (SCBs).]

125:44:17 Allen: Okay, Jim.

125:44:19 Irwin: Let's see. Bag number 2 (which is a spare on the back of the Rover), looks like all the contents there we leave here.

125:44:26 Allen: Roger.

125:44:27 Irwin: I'll get the bag under the seat...or the samples under the seat. (Long Pause)

[The only sample under the seat is the Seatbelt Basalt that Dave secretly collected at 123:42:41.]

[Jones - "Before I got the tape on, you said that probably what Jim's getting is the Seatbelt Basalt. Certainly, Joe doesn't make any comments here about Jim's 'samples under the seat' and either he didn't tumble to what you were doing when you collected it or, if he did, he's keeping quiet. Of course, I do get the impression that Joe might well have recognized that you were picking up something back at the seatbelt caper and wouldn't have commented on it then or now."]

[Scott - "Had he picked up on it, he would never have said anything. And he's pretty perceptive."]

125:45:00 Scott: Really? Okay.

125:45:02 Allen: Roger. We think you can use it...

125:45:03 Scott: Hey, Jim?

125:45:04 Irwin: Yeah?

125:45:05 Scott: Turn around a minute.

125:45:06 Allen: ...and it'll give us good data for later.

125:45:12 Scott: Look over here. (Pause) (Acknowledging Houston's request on the cooling) Okay, Joe. (Long Pause)

[Dave is taking pictures of Jim and the Rover. Frame AS15-86- 11598 shows the tire tracks Dave made when, at 125:42:11, he backed the Rover to put it closer to the MESA. Jim is working at his side of the Rover, facing away from Dave. The rock box is visible on the MESA table. On the Rover, we can see the sighting scope on the back of the high-gain antenna, the 16-mm Data Acquisition Camera (DAC), and the penetrometer. Hadley Delta is in the background.]

[Frame 11599 shows Jim with a Sample Collection Bag (SCB). St. George Crater is in the background.]

[Dave aimed farther right to get 11600, showing Silver Spur in the background. Note that the lineations are not as distinct as they were during the SEVA. Compare with AS15-87-11747. On the LM, we can see a thruster deflector shield. Note the dramatic tilt of the spacecraft. ]

[In AS15-86- 11601, Jim is at the back of the Rover facing Dave, probably in response to Dave's request that he do so. David Harland has assembled frames 11600 and 11602 into a mini-pan.]

[In frame 11602, Jim is facing west, probably having started to go to the MESA with the rock bag. Note the bright-rimmed crater on the rim of St. George. Frame 11603 is the last in the series. Dave has moved around to a position in the LM shadow southwest of the Rover. This excellent picture shows Jim at the back of the Rover; and Mt. Hadley, in all its glory, is in the background. On the back of the Rover we can see two SCBs mounted on the gate; and, also, the rake, both pairs of tongs, the extension handle, probably with the scoop attached, and the penetrometer. Note that the TV camera is pointed down, in the stowed position. A detail concentrates on Jim and the Rover.]

[David Harland has assembled frames 11600 and 11602 into a mini-pan.]

125:45:51 Allen: Okay.

125:45:57 Irwin: Now I'm going to put bag 1 in the SRC.

125:46:02 Allen: That a boy.

125:46:07 Irwin: Hope it'll fit. (Long Pause)

125:46:30 Scott: Okay, Joe. (As per CDR-28) Into the ETB goes CDR's camera, and Mag November (which is Apollo magazine AS15-86) with 76 frames (exposed).

125:46:39 Allen: Roger. (Long Pause)

[The magazine was physically marked with a very large, easy-to-read "NN".]

125:46:56 Allen: Roger. Sounds good.

125:47:01 Scott: Okay. LMP camera, Mag Lima (Apollo magazine 85), 119 frames.

125:47:06 Allen: Roger. (Long Pause)

125:47:41 Scott: Mag...Hey, Joe. The unused Mags, I guess we want to take them back in, right?

125:47:45 Allen: That's affirm.

125:47:53 Scott: Yeah. (16-mm magazines) Delta and Echo coming in.

125:47:58 Allen: Roger.

125:48:00 Scott: Kilo (Apollo magazine 87) coming in. Oboe (Apollo magazine 92) coming in.

125:48:04 Allen: Roger.

125:48:12 Irwin: Boy, that seal is really difficult to get on this SRC. (Pause) (Straining slightly) Really difficult! (Pause) Need a hammer.

125:48:39 Allen: Jim, did you take the protective cover off the seal?

125:48:45 Irwin: Yeah, I did, Joe. (Long Pause)

[The "protective cover" is a Teflon spacer installed on the box when it was packed in a vacuum chamber in Houston prior to the flight. The spacer kept the knife edge in the rim of the body of the box from seating in a strip of soft, indium metal in the lid. With the spacer removed, the knife edge will cut into the indium, thereby creating a tighter seal. NASA photo S72-37196 shows a closed rock box in a lab in Houston. Once Jim pushes the lid shut, he secures the two latches and then rotates the central handle to slide the rods into locking holes on either side of the box. NASA photo S69-31080 shows Neil Armstrong securing the right-hand latch on a rock box during a final, pre-launch training session. There is no discussion in either the Mission Report or the Technical Debrief of the trouble Jim is having closing this box.]

MP3 Audio Clip ( 11 min 34 sec ) by David Shaffer

125:49:05 Allen: Roger.

125:49:08 Irwin: Okay, let's see, Joe. We don't have any other bags (other than the ETB) to take up, do we?

125:49:13 Allen: That's affirmative, Jim. You read it correctly.

125:49:23 Irwin: Although we do have one large rock here that we might as well carry up.

[This is sample 15016, the Seatbelt Basalt. Photos and other information about the sample can be found at the Lunar and Planetary Institute website. Jousrnal contributor Erwin D'Hoore has used a pair of images (S71-46962-3 taken by NASA for stereo purposes) of the 'N' face to create a red-blue anaglyph.]

125:49:33 Irwin: Yeah.

125:49:34 Allen: Sounds good.

125:49:38 Scott: Easy does it.

125:49:42 Allen: And, Dave, we need maps yet, and (16-mm magazine) Charlie Charlie (CC) off the DAC (Data Acquisition Camera).

125:49:49 Scott: Yeah; okay. I'm just waiting for Jim to move out of the way.

125:49:53 Allen: Roger. While you're waiting, we need the LRV Batt covers open.

[The Rover is parked so that the white-painted battery covers, when open, shade radiators on top of the batteries. That way, heating is reduced and cooling is maximized. The batteries can operate up to about 140F and, at this point, the temperature on each battery is 100 F. Don McMillan has provided an animation ( 0.8 Mb ) of the battery covers on a his Virtual Rover being opened.]

125:50:05 Allen: Okay, no hurry. Doing fine. (Pause)

125:50:14 Scott: Got the maps. (Pause)

125:50:20 Irwin: And the MESA covers are tidied.

125:50:23 Scott: Okay. Oh, boy! Do you know you had a camera jam on that, Jim?

125:50:30 Irwin: No.

125:50:31 Scott: The film jammed in the Mag, and it stripped the threads, in the film. Whew! Mag Charlie; you got a nothing on Charlie. Let's go! Move! Charlie's in the ETB.

125:50:48 Allen: Okay, Dave. We'll get it next time. No problem.

[The difficulties encountered with the 16-mm film magazines is discussed at 120:36:40.]

125:50:54 Scott: Yeah. Okay, I'm going Max cooling. Joe, you can give me a mark.

[Houston wants to watch Dave's cooling water usage for a minute.]

125:51:02 Scott: (Garbled) should be.

125:51:05 Scott: Okay. Call me when you get your minute.

125:51:10 Allen: I'll do it.

125:51:14 Irwin: Okay, Dave; I'm ready to clean you.

125:51:19 Scott: Oh, okay. (Pause) You think that's possible? Use the brush.

[They are now on LMP-30 and CDR-29.]

125:51:37 Irwin: Yes, I did, Joe.

125:51:41 Allen: Good show.

125:51:46 Scott: Okay, Joe, there's quite a bit of dust on the mirror on the LCRU. As a matter of fact, there's quite a bit of dust all over the Rover. It's a very fine kind of dust. Do you want us to, maybe, brush that off? (Pause)

125:52:07 Allen: Dave, maybe a token effort, but don't take too long; it doesn't sound too serious to us.

125:52:16 Scott: Okay. (Pause) (To Jim) Okay, that's...Whoa! Right there. (Pause) If we can get it off out here, the less we're going to have to put up with in there (in the LM cabin). (Pause) (Laughing) That's really dirty stuff. (Pause)

125:52:46 Irwin: Well, you dirty yourself (lost under Joe)

125:52:48 Allen: Okay, Dave. Go back to whatever cooling you want.

125:52:54 Scott: Okay, stand by. (Pause) Okay.

125:52:58 Irwin: (Shall I) put that brush away?

125:53:00 Scott: Huh?

125:53:01 Irwin: I'll put it away.

125:53:02 Scott: I'm going to dust off the mirror, there. Go ahead...Get your (PLSS/OPS) antenna?

125:53:06 Irwin: Yeah. (Pause)

125:53:09 Scott: What's left of it. (Pause)

[During the mission review, Dave and I interpreted this statement to mean that Jim's antenna had broken off by this time. However, I also noted that, before Jim climbed the ladder at 121:15:38 with the contingency sample, we saw Dave stow the antenna. Subsequently, I re-reviewed portions of the ALSEP deployment video tape and noted that the antenna was still intact - or, at least, was still vertical and of normal length - at about 125:16:27. The mystery remains.]

125:53:19 Irwin: Yep.

125:53:20 Scott: ...controller mount is the thing that you're hanging up on. You sort of have to go easy and get down past that.

125:53:29 Irwin: Okay.

125:53:31 Scott: See you inside.

125:53:32 Irwin: Okay. (Pause)

[Scott - "ACA is the Attitude Control Assembly (which is) right above the hatch. My handcontroller is mounted on a block, essentially, which is the electronics unit. So, why didn't we experience that in a simulated environment? Probably because we're in one-sixth g, now, and he doesn't compress. In training, you've got the backpack on, which will push the suit down, which helps you get in. Even in the one-sixth-g airplane, you probably get the residual effects of going up and down from one-sixth g to 2 g's to one-sixth g. So I can imagine that, running this in the airplane, when you went to 2 g, you'd get compressed, back to one-sixth g you wouldn't expand as far as he's expanded here. So, going in the door, he's not compressed and he gets hung on the back of the handcontroller."]

[Jones - "One thing that puzzles me here is whether or not the tip of Jim's antenna has been broken off yet."]

[Scott - "I think it has. I say 'what's left of it.'"]

[Jones - "But I remember seeing you stow it (at 121:15:38) just before he climbed back in with the contingency sample to reset the switches. Maybe it popped out again before he went through."]

125:53:41 Allen: Roger, Dave. (Long Pause)

125:53:55 Scott: You want both LRV battery covers open, is that correct?

125:53:56 Allen: That's affirm. (Pause)

125:54:05 Scott: Okay. (Long Pause) There's one open. (Long Pause) (Won't) stay open! Hmmm. (Long Pause) There. Oooh, me! They're open. (Pause)

[Jones - "Am I right in assuming that this flight Rover had never been exercised."]

[Scott - "Other than to check it out and make sure it worked."]

[Jones - "So that cover hadn't been opened and closed numerous times like the one on the one-g trainer."]

[Scott - "And we're in one-sixth g, so the weight of the cover wouldn't hold it as well."]

125:55:14 Irwin: Getting it. (Long Pause) I'm in, Dave.

125:55:30 Scott: Good boy. (Pause)

[Scott, from the 1971 Technical Debrief - "I guess you had the same problem getting in (at 121:17:52, when Jim entered the LM to set the comm switches) because of the same reasons. I think once we got everything in and you discovered that the hatch wasn't fully open, why, that made it a lot easier from then on. I guess I didn't have any problems getting back in because, again, you were able to guide me as I came in through the door."]

125:55:37 Scott: (Garbled) the Rover (tasks at the bottom of CDR-29).

125:55:39 Irwin: (Breathing heavily) Okay, because I've got a pallet here that should come out; I'll put it on the porch.

125:55:43 Scott: Okay, I can dump it when I get here.

[As indicated in Figure 10-3b from the Apollo 15 Mission Report, Jim's heart rate is above 160 beats per minute.]

125:55:59 Scott: Yeah, let me just check on down the checklist, will you, Joe?

125:56:04 Allen: Rog. Rog. No problem. (Long Pause)

125:56:34 Allen: Jim, did you carry the SRC up into the LM with you?

125:56:40 Irwin: Yes, I did, Joe.

125:56:42 Allen: Good show.

125:56:45 Scott: Hey, Jim.

125:56:46 Irwin: Yeah.

125:56:47 Scott: I've got something for you. (Pause)

125:56:53 Irwin: Oh, great.

125:56:54 Scott: Now I'll take the pallet.

125:56:56 Irwin: Okay.

125:57:00 Allen: Don't tell me, Davey, let me guess.

125:57:06 Scott: Say again?

125:57:08 Allen: Roger. Don't tell me; let me guess what that was.

125:57:14 Scott: (Chuckles) Oh, you'd never guess, Joe. (Long Pause)

[Jones - "The way I interpret this is that, during the Long Pause at 125:56:04, you went up the ladder. And that you're headed back down, now. You were supposed to bring up SCB-4, but Jim put all those samples in the SRC in SCB-1. What would you have brought up?"]

[Scott - "If that's not the Seatbelt Basalt, I'm not sure what it is."]

[Jones - "That's what I think, too."]

[Scott - "And I don't know what Joe had in mind that I had. Unless it was the Aggie Rock."]

[Jones - "No, the Aggie isn't yet."]

[Dave first spots the glass ball called the "Aggie" at 108:30:36, after the SEVA; but doesn't collect it until just before 142:56:47, early in EVA-2. A discussion of the name "Aggie" follows 108:30:36.]

[Scott - "Joe doesn't miss much; so he may have thought he knew what it was. And I didn't think he knew what it was."]

[Jones - "I wouldn't be surprised that he had a good idea, having listened to Joe in action."]

[Scott - "You should ask him some day."]

125:57:52 Allen: Jim, we want you just to take a breather there. We're in good shape, and just take it easy a sec.

125:58:01 Irwin: Okay, there's nothing much I...(Burst of static)

125:58:05 Scott: Okay, LCRU Power Switch is Off; LCRU blankets (pause) are 35 percent open; that means 65 percent closed!

125:58:19 Allen: Or thereabouts.

125:58:20 Scott: We need more calculation. (Pause) Okay, Joe, I'm ready to hop in. Do you have anything else you need done out here?

125:58:37 Allen: Dave, we're real good on the time, if you'll just stand by a second. You'll carry the ETB up with you, I guess.

125:58:48 Scott: Yes, sir. I have it in my hand right now. (Pause)

125:58:56 Allen: Dave, we are in such good shape on the time, we'd like for you to deploy the solar wind (composition experiment or SWC).

125:59:05 Irwin: (Laughing) Gee, I should have done that, Dave, before I came up.

125:59:13 Scott: Okay, Joe, I'll give it a try. It's been, like, 2 years since I've done it; but, I'll give it a try. Where is it, Jim?

[Dave and Jim trained as the backup crew on Apollo 12 and, during 1969, practiced deploying the SWC.]

125:59:31 Scott: Well, okay. I can do it, I think. I used to do it back on 12.

125:59:37 Scott: Is it not, these days, can everybody put up a (lost under Joe).

125:59:39 Allen: Dave, dealer's choice.

125:59:44 Scott: Well, is there something else I can do for you, like gather up some rocks. (Long Pause)

MP3 Audio Clip ( 15 min 27 sec ) by David Shaffer

126:00:08 Allen: Dave, I guess we don't have anything else for you right now. It's been a(n) outstanding EVA here; why don't you go ahead and get in at your leisure. Might want to pick up that glass rock (the Aggie) on your way in.

126:00:24 Scott: Okay. Hey, Jim, can you see me out the window? (Pause) Hey, Jim?

126:00:33 Irwin: Yeah, I'm looking for you. You weren't in the left window; are you in the right window?

126:00:35 Scott: Yeah. Talk me through the solar wind; let's get it up, they really need lots of data; we can give them lots of data.

[If the SWC deployment had been deferred to early in EVA-2, it wouldn't have been done before about 142:33:52. By deploying the experiment now, Dave is giving the experimenters an extra 16 hours of valuable exposure time.]

126:00:43 Scott: Okay. Right about here, huh?

126:00:47 Irwin: Farther, if you want. Yeah. And just pull the tube out to full extension. Careful when you get to the end...

126:00:56 Scott: The little thing popped off the end.

126:00:58 Irwin: That's okay. Just pull it on out.

126:01:01 Scott: Okay.

126:01:02 Irwin: And, careful when you rotate the screen that you rotate in the right direction, so it doesn't pop off.

126:01:06 Scott: Did the...

126:01:07 Irwin: Just extend the tube several sections. Make sure they're in the red, indicating it's locked.

126:01:12 Scott: Okay, red, red, red. Red.

126:01:14 Irwin: Keep pulling.

126:01:16 Scott: Okay.

126:01:17 Irwin: And pull that...Yeah, pull that out.

126:01:19 Scott: Oh, yeah. Window shade...

126:01:20 Irwin: Just be careful you rotate in the right direction so it doesn't drop off.

126:01:23 Scott: Want to rotate it against the opening, right?

126:01:26 Irwin: Yeah.

126:01:27 Scott: Like that. Okay; that's easy enough to do.

126:01:30 Irwin: Okay, and then...

126:01:31 Scott: Yeah.

126:01:32 Irwin: ...grab that there, and...

126:01:33 LM Crew: Pull it down.

126:01:34 Irwin: And make sure you get the - not the wire, but the bottom of the screen - over the loop.

126:01:39 Scott: Okay, I see that. (Long Pause) Okay the bottom of the screen is over the loop. It says "Sun," I guess that means that's...

126:02:02 Irwin: Yeah.

126:02:03 Scott: ...what you face to the Sun, doesn't it?

126:02:04 Irwin: Isn't that a neat experiment?

126:02:05 Scott: Yeah, that's the kind of experiment I like.

126:02:07 Irwin: Yeah.

126:02:08 Scott: Okay, we're out here at good distance where it won't get any dust on it from the Rover. And I'll turn it into the Sun here; stick it into the ground. It's core tube. (Pause) There. Okay, Joe, solar wind is deployed. (Pause) And I'm going to...

126:02:32 Allen: Beautiful!

126:02:33 Scott: ...pick up a...

126:02:34 Allen: Ingress the Falcon, please.

126:02:35 Scott: ...a couple of rocks. (Responding to Joe) Yes, sir. (Long Pause) Oh, my! (Pause) I couldn't resist this one, Jim.

126:03:14 Irwin: That the glass one?

126:03:15 Scott: Oh, look at what I got! You wouldn't believe it! (Pause) Okay, pick up the ETB.

[This is sample 15015, a 4.7 kilogram, glass-coated, regolith breccia, the third largest rock collected during the mission. This is the 'black rock' Dave described after the SEVA at 107:33:34.]

[Scott, from the 1971 Technical Debrief - "Through the windows, prior to leaving the LM, we had seen a large black fragment on my side. And you had seen a black frag on your side, as you looked out the front window. These were unique to the local surroundings. I don't think we'd seen other fragments that black and prominent. I picked this one up; it was probably 60 to 70 meters in front of my window. When we got back, we tossed it in the bag. It was about 8 or 10 inches across by 6 inches thick. It almost looked like one big piece of black glass with a rough-textured surface."]

126:03:31 Scott: Okay. (Long Pause) Well, we don't need the LEC...Oh yeah, you mean the...

126:03:56 Irwin: Yeah.

126:03:57 Scott: ...LEC up there.

126:03:58 Irwin: Yeah.

126:03:59 Scott: Yeah; okay. (Pause) Okay. (Pause) Oh, I like one-sixth g! (Long Pause)

[Dave probably just hopped up on to the ladder and is now climbing up to the porch.]

[Jim can't bend down very far and Dave is pushing the ETB far enough through the hatch that it is in reach.]

126:04:46 Scott: Got it? Real easy with it, so we don't get film and stuff dirty. Give me the LEC. (Pause)

126:04:59 Irwin: Let me get your (PLSS/OPS) antenna.

126:05:00 Scott: Yes, sir.

126:05:01 Irwin: (Garbled) it here.

126:05:02 Scott: Wait a minute; let me hang up the LEC, here. (Pause) Okay, I got hung up. Can you get my antenna? Oop!

126:05:20 Irwin: Can you bend over a little more? Come in a little more. Good; just hold it right there. (Pause) Okay, your (PLSS/OPS) antenna's stowed.

[Jones - "I suppose that, with you out on the porch and the top of your OPS just in the hatch, he could reach down and get the antenna. I suppose it would have been less of a reach than the dump valve."]

[Scott - "No problem."]

[Dave has to get his belly as low as possible to get his PLSS through the hatch. Because the midstep is not vary far from the hatch, Dave has to raise his helmet and then his shoulders to clear it. He probably angles to his right, away from Jim and, after getting his PLSS past the DSKY, can get to his knees and then stand. He probably ends up facing away from Jim, either toward the left rear of the cabin or the left bulkhead.]

126:05:48 Irwin: Yeah. (Pause) Got it made!

126:05:55 Scott: Yeah, if I...Can you get the ETB out of the way?

126:06:00 Irwin: Yeah. (Pause) (Garbled). (Pause) Just a minute; I'm... (Pause) Okay, I'm kind of hung up on you, Dave. Let me move back.

126:06:19 Scott: Oh, okay.

126:06:20 Irwin: Okay, now you're clear. (Pause)

126:06:26 Scott: There you are! (Pause)

[Dave probably has just gotten to his feet and has turned enough that he sees Jim.]

126:06:35 Irwin: (Reading checklist page Surface 5-1) Prim(ary) Water, Close.

126:06:37 Scott: Oh, wait a minute. I'm not ready to do anything yet. Let me turn around. (Pause)

[They need to turn off the primary feedwater valves on their PLSSs. Dave needs to get his right arm free so that he can reach back.]

126:06:45 Allen: Loud and clear. Loud and clear.

126:06:52 Scott: Okay. Prime Water, Close, huh? (Pause) If I can find it.

126:07:07 Irwin: Want me to get it for you? (Pause)

126:07:15 Scott: Okay, Prime Water's Closed.

126:07:17 Irwin: Did you get yours?

126:07:17 Scott: (Garbled under Jim) Huh? I got mine.

126:07:20 Irwin: Turn around and get mine. (Pause)

126:07:27 Scott: Can you get it? (Pause)

126:07:32 Irwin: No.

126:07:34 Scott: (I'll) get it for you. (Pause) Got it. Okay, turn around to the right here. I mean left. I'm sorry. Here, turn around. (Pause) Okay. (Pause) Okay, I've got a flag and a tone. (Long Pause)

126:08:24 Scott: Your PLSS seems to have really shifted.

126:08:28 Irwin: That's the problem. It seems like it's riding a lot higher.

126:08:30 Scott: Yeah! Way, way. No wonder you can't get those things.

126:08:37 Irwin: Hey, you're caught under...Here, Dave, you're caught under that shelf.

126:08:40 Scott: (Garbled) Okay. (Pause) Okay, Prime Water's, Closed.

[Scott, from the 1971 Technical Debrief - "When we got back in, I noticed that things seemed to be much more crowded than I had remembered several hours before. I guess that's (because) we had the freedom of mobility outside. And I had a tough time getting to my water to turn it of; and I think you did too."]

[Irwin, from the 1971 Technical Debrief - "In fact, I think I asked you to get mine. It could have been a function of our hands being so doggone tired."]

[Scott, from the 1971 Technical Debrief - "Yes, I think it probably was. But, still, it was very crowded and very difficult to move around."]

[The following is taken from a discussion Jim and I had while reviewing the early stages on EVA-1.]

[Jones - "Jack has mentioned that there were two problems that he had working with the gloves. One was the forearm and finger tiredness just from manipulating the glove against the internal pressure; and the other was that his fingernails lifted off the quick from repeated reaching. Did you have those kind of problems?"]

[Irwin - "Well, you know, the wrist ring became a sore point, just because of pressure at that point. And, then, there was another problem that, I think, came about because we perspired more than Apollo 17 and we didn't select sufficient cooling - and we probably worked harder, too. I think the Sun angle and, therefore, the thermal conditions, were about the same for both those missions. But, because of the heat and the perspiration, your fingers became immersed in sweat and the tissue receded from the nail and, of course, the nails grew from being immersed in sweat most of the day. They really did grow. So, at one point, I cut my nails back, 'cause I could see that was a problem. I tried to get Dave to cut his nails, but he wouldn't do it. And, as a result, all of his nails turned black after the flight."]

[Post-flight photo S71-42195 making some after-dinner remarks onboard the U.S.S. Okinawa a few hours after splashdown. A detail shows the damage to the nails on Dave's third and fourth fingers.]

[Jones - "From lifting of the quick?"]

[Irwin - "From lifting and just pressure on the end of the nail. I think he was a little reluctant to cut his nails because he thought he might lose a little dexterity that he might have needed. But, to me, whether the nails were long or short, it didn't seem like that would affect the dexterity. It would be interesting to talk to him about that, why he didn't want to do that. And we expressed that to the follow-on crews in our debriefing and suggested that they consider cutting their nails, if that became a factor. And it was a painful factor! So you needed a reminder, you know, when you get into the Lunar Module, 'Man, I ought to cut my nails.' This is the first time I'd heard that Jack had problems."]

[Jones - "Jack said he wore some liners."]

[Irwin - "We all wore liners. Kind of a nylon liner. Just to help you get in and out of the glove easier. And it soaked up some of the water."]

[Jones - "The LCG (Liquid-Cooled Garment) didn't go over the hands?"]

[Irwin - "Nope. It stopped at the wrist. So there was no cooling of the extremities. No cooling of the feet or the hands or the head."]

126:08:54 Scott: (Lost under Joe)

126:08:55 Allen: ... Suit Isol(ation) valve.

126:09:01 Irwin: Yeah, I am Joe. (Pause)

[They put the Suit Isolation Valves in Suit Disconnect prior to depressurization at the start of the EVA. Joe's call suggests that the valve got hit when Jim came in the cabin.]

126:09:16 Irwin: Yeah, I'm getting back here in the corner. (Pause)

126:09:28 Scott: Okay, hatch is closed and locked. Now, let me move out of the way for you (to close the dump valve). Wait. (Pause) Ain't no room in here. (Pause) Gee whiz! (Pause) Okay. Now, can you get to the dump valve? (Pause) To Auto?

126:10:11 Irwin: Okay. Dump valve in Auto.

126:10:15 Scott: Okay. (Pause) Now, the next thing is (Reading) "PLSS O2 and Press flags may come on during Repress. PLSS O2 less than 10 percent, manually control..." Okay, I've got about 10 percent (oxygen remaining). Why don't you go Cabin Repress (valve) to Auto?

126:10:34 Irwin: Cabin Repress going to Auto. (Pause) Getting...What was the first one?

126:10:45 Scott: Say again?

126:10:46 Irwin: Oh, I thought the circuit breaker...

126:10:48 Scott: Oh, wait a minute. (Looking at the checklist) You got Cabin Repress in Auto?

126:10:51 Irwin: Yeah.

[Scott, from a 1996 letter - "We never really tried to memorize the procedures and always used the checklist. But some of them became familiar from repeated use."]

[Here, Jim thinks he should have closed the circuit breaker before putting the valve to Auto. On those rare occasions when the Apollo crews made procedural errors, the problem was that they had relied on memory rather than the checklist. An example is comm problems Pete Conrad and Al Bean experienced during their EVA-1 Preps. As the astronauts told me repeatedly, procedural success requires both the familiarity that comes with good training AND the diligent use of checklists.]

126:10:54 Irwin: Now, if I can get around the...What am I hung up on? (Pause)

126:11:02 Scott: Nothing I can see. Except me.

[Jim was facing aft to get the valve and now has to turn to reach the circuit breaker panel ( CB(16) ) on the righthand bulkhead.]

126:11:10 Scott: Okay, there she goes. (Sound of repress audible) And we're up to half (a psi); up to 1 (Pause) 1.5 (Pause) 2.0. (Pause) Okay, you can go...Cabin pressure's increasing; let's go Press Regs A and B to cabin. (Pause) Okay. "PLSS O2 Off when the cabin is full to two and a half," which it is now. (Long Pause; repress ends) Okay, my PLSS O2 is Off. And warning light, off. Okay, "verify cabin pressure stable at 4.6 to 5," and it looks like it's 4.5 and stable. (Pause) Okay. "Use purge valves to depress (if necessary). CB configuration." Okay? CB(16) ECS: Suit Fan 2, close.

[The EVA duration - from 3.5 psi to 3.5 psi - was 6 hours, 34 minutes, 14 seconds.]

126:12:52 Scott: Right here; "CB(16) ECS: Suit Fan number 2, closed."

126:12:55 Irwin: Okay, closed.

126:12:56 Scott: "Suit Fan Delta-P closed."

126:12:58 Irwin: Closed.

126:12:59 Scott: Okay, get these lights up here so we can see those warning (garbled). (Pause)

126:13:09 Scott: Okay. "ECS caution and H2O SEP component lights" are out. "Doff gloves! Stow on the comm panel." Boy, that's a nice idea. (Long Pause)

126:13:41 Allen: Jim, your Suit Isolation Valve...

126:13:42 Irwin: Yeah, let's find the (lost under Joe)

126:13:43 Allen: ...still shows connect down here.

126:13:50 Irwin: Okay, it's in Suit Disconnect up here, Joe.

126:13:55 Allen: Good enough, Jim. Thank you. (Long Pause)

[This exchange suggests either a telemetry problem or that the valve did not seat and needed to be cycled.]

126:14:12 Scott: What? What do you need?

126:14:13 Irwin: Could you get my gloves. I tell you, my fingers are so sore.

126:14:17 Scott: Mine are, too. (Joking) Wonder why? (Pause) There you go.

[Comm Break]