Counting Down to Apollo

One American's account of watching humanity reach the Moon

Tag: scrubber

The Carbon Dioxide Problem
Apollo 13 April 14, 1970

The Carbon Dioxide Problem

Mission Control engineers spent hours designing a way to make square carbon dioxide scrubber cartridges fit round holes, using only materials available on the spacecraft: cardboard, plastic bags, and tape. They called it the "mailbox." It worked. This is what saves people's lives: someone who knows enough to improvise.
Read the full entry