NASA-UAP-D029 — Apollo 17 Crew Medical Debriefing (Continued), 1972

OK , this is take number 14 .

Continuation of section 23.0 with Jack

Schmidt .

OK , flight data file CSM .

Generally , I have nothing but praise

for the flight data file of both

vehicles . Uh , there was very ,

very few things that one could have

asked for to improve that data file for

the , for Apollo 17 at any rate .

One comment on the uh flight plan

supplement . Uh , we had , uh , split

pages for , uh , Uh , number of the

logging , uh , medical and , uh , food

logging , and that probably was a

mistake . Uh , I think the

idea was fairly good initially , but

the pages , uh , we tended to only use

that in the book as a whole , and it

was a good place to keep them . And

also the pages , uh , if you had wanted

them split , were too thin to maintain

the split , and they tended to , uh ,

fall out of the book . I would

recommend either not splitting or

having heavier paper . If , uh ,

if you want them split .

Uh , we had , uh , I had an extra cue

card , uh , built for panel 229 .

I , I think it was an excellent card

that uh summarized the circuit breaker

functions both on 229 and on on panel 8 .

Uh , because we had no , uh , systems

anomalies of any significance that

would relate to that card , it was not

used , but I would strongly recommend

its availability , if only for training .

Uh , during the and during Sims , it's

a good quick review of what you lose or

Or , uh , retain , uh , for those two

panels .

I , uh , in the flight plan . I

added some pen and ink cues .

Uh , along the margins for certain

observational targets that , uh ,

I particularly wanted to look at , uh ,

these are independent of any , uh ,

experiment , uh , designated experiment .

And , uh , entered them as a , uh , I

entered them as a function of , uh , of

time . And that , uh , that seemed to

work very well for me . Uh , I think it

had that kind of thing as an individual

preference item . And , uh , if you

have experiment , it ought to be flight

planned , uh , if you're , uh , just

planning to use your spare time for

specific observational targets or types

of observations . Uh , then I think ,

uh , the pen and ink , uh , is maybe

the easiest way to go . Uh , since it

shouldn't , uh , concern any , uh ,

large number of people .

We , uh , Gordie Fullerton , uh , fixed

up the circular , uh . Oral cue card .

For me with a similar uh designation of ,

of , of craters .

Uh as a function of time , uh , I did

not use that , uh , not because it

wasn't a good idea , but because , uh ,

a familiarity with the , uh , moon

which , uh , came very quickly after a

couple orbits and you just , uh , you

could recognize your position on the

moon , uh , fairly easily , uh , as a

function of each rev , either the time

in the rev , uh , approximate time

since sunset . Uh , or , uh , just

because you could look out the window

and tell where you were .

In the limb , uh , We ,

uh , The same comments apply . I think

all the flight data file items were

excellent .

The , uh , I did not use the data card

book to the extent that I know it was

used on 15 and maybe on 16 . Uh , we

logged most of our , uh , Uh , specific ,

uh ,

Uh , items such as , uh , alignment

data and , uh , Comparable .

Kinds of things in the checklist at the

point where they were collected rather

than in the data book and uh had no

this did not seem to raise any

difficulty at any time . The cuff

checklist , uh , we've talked about , I

think , uh , in the surface items .

I , uh , I thought the cuff checklist

was excellent . I think we did the

things . We had the , the right kind of

photo maps in there , uh , That , uh ,

We're , uh , useful for reference , uh ,

uh , where we were , uh , Around a

given station I don't think we used

them as much as I had anticipated using

them , uh , mainly because , uh ,

navigation was no problem and the

points that we had selected pre-flight

were excellent , uh , points for

investigation and there was no need to

try to , to decide on uh alternative ,

uh , points to uh . To try to study ,

uh , in the vicinity of a given station .

The , uh , List of .

Items to be accomplished at each

station are to really they were mind

joggers to read at each station . Uh ,

were not again not as used as much as I

thought they would be initially , but I

think that was mainly because , uh , we

both , at least I had become , uh , so

familiar with the items that , uh ,

each station was in itself , uh , easy

to recall , uh , as a result of having

created the checklist . So , uh ,

checklist was turned out to be more of

a , of a learning item , uh , rather

than a reference item , uh , for use on

the surface . I wouldn't have done it

any differently , however .

I particularly , uh , want to , uh ,

Compliment the , uh , Chuck Lewis on

the timeline book , uh , that was ,

But I really can't sing , but the

timeline book was , was very , very

well done and very , we had , had no

problems with the timeline book at all ,

but that , of course , applies to the ,

To , uh , every , every checklist that

we had , uh , There were just no

procedural errors that I could , that I ,

that I recall in any of the books that

we , Fortunately we didn't have to use

a malfunction , uh . Book or the ,

uh , only , uh , once did I pull out

the system's data book , uh , to check .

To check on a , uh , systems problem ,

and I , uh , Right now , I can't

remember what that was .

What it was . Well , I did use it once .

Charts and maps . I thought in the

CSM that I would use , uh , the , uh ,

orbiter , orbit , uh , What do

they see , orbit monitor charts , I

guess that's what they're called , and

I had an extra one put on so it

wouldn't interfere with the planned

activities of , uh , Of the CMP . I did

not use that , uh , Very

much . I eventually , uh ,

did some sketching on it post TEI . I

think there are about 5 , specific

points that I labeled as areas , uh , A ,

B , C , D , maybe E , and these are ,

uh , referenced on my crew notebook ,

in my crew notebook for specific , uh ,

observations . But in general , uh , I

did not put that to as much use as I

expected . One item is that that chart

should have been identical to the , uh ,

CMP's chart , and there were a few pen

and ink changes left off of it that

caused some confusion at one point ,

pen and ink , uh , exposure . Uh ,

settings for certain photo targets .

The uh CSM uh . On the landmark

maps that the LNP had added in the rear

of that book . Uh ,

Again , were not used .

I , I really thought I would use those ,

but in the , uh , you became

reluctant as you were observing a

specific point or area target , say ,

such as Gagarin or something like that

to , uh , to take time out to , uh ,

sketch on the photo . You , I tended

for the 2 or 3 minutes that observation

was possible of a given area . I tended

to , to look and then , uh , at the

first opportunity to take notes in the

notebook rather than , uh , trying to

sketch on the , uh , photograph . And I

suspect that this was because uh I

tended to look for generalizations

about the uh target that I was trying

to observe rather than uh uh checking

out specific uh individual features and

uh there really uh did not seem to be

any need to uh make notes about

specific points on the pictures and as

a result I did not use them . Again

though , I think having uh selected

them and studied them pre-flight , uh ,

made it worth having them around . Uh ,

the necessity for flying them was

probably less than the necessity for

having reviewed them and studied them .

I think I still , if I had to do it

again , I still would want to have that

kind of data available in the

spacecraft even though it on this

particular mission it was not used . I

do think though that the CMP , uh ,

used his , uh , visual target maps , uh ,

considerably and I , and I did on a

couple occasions , uh , use some of the ,

uh , ones that he had again and , uh ,

but , uh , for the most part that was

post TEI . And uh I made some notes and

sketches on some of those maps .

When the , and I think that just a

function that there was a lot of time

to look at the moon and make a sketch

and then look back and and fix it up

post EEI where in orbit the time just

did not exist .

As Gordon said a couple of years ago ,

and once you start flying , the clock

is relentless .

OK , general flight planning . Uh ,

I was not very closely involved in the

flight planning . Ron sort of carried

the burden of that . Uh , for both Gene

and myself , uh , I . The

flight plan was excellent . Uh , we had

no problems with it at all that I ,

that I'm aware of .

Tommy Holloway and his people are to be

complimented on that . The , uh ,

Uh ,

Number of different requirements and ,

uh , experiments , and , uh ,

General operational , uh , items that

were required to be integrated one with

the other , uh , was very , very high ,

and it was done in an extremely , uh ,

competent and , uh , and usable way .

And I don't , can't think of anything

that I would , uh , would change in the

way the flight plan was written .

OK , 23.5 , uh ,

preflight support .

Pre-fight support was excellent . Uh ,

in the flight data file area and , uh ,

Uh , one specific item that I had , uh ,

was , uh , once the flight plan was

well established . Just about at the

final stage , uh , Uh , I

had . Two or three , texts , I don't

remember , two or three , briefing

sessions where , uh , in the portions

of the , uh , lunar orbit flight plan

that I was going to be , uh , During

which I would be in , uh , I was going

to be in the spacecraft in the CSM . Uh ,

we went over in detail the attitudes

and maneuvers and the , uh ,

availability window availability so

that , that I was able to plan in a

very short amount of time with minimum

effort on my part . Uh , the , uh , my

own personal , uh , Observations of the

lunar surface . And which went very

well as far as planning was concerned .

Appreciated that , uh , that was extra

above and beyond the call of duty on

the part of the flight planners , and ,

uh , I appreciated uh . Of their , uh ,

taking time out to do that for me .

The , uh ,

I think it was , uh , Useful to ,

uh , have the , uh , I think it was a

daylong session . Uh , where the

flight controllers and the crew , And

the flight planners sat around in one

room and went over those portions of

the flight plan which were not normally

simulated . Uh , it turned out that the

flight plan had been so well done that ,

uh , I doubt if there were any specific

items that , uh , came up that we

needed to change or there was seemed to

be a lack of coordination on . Uh ,

this was in contrast to , to , uh ,

previous flights where I flights where

I think we were still learning , uh ,

all of us were learning on , uh , how

to , uh . Uh , put together flight

plans and integrate requirements . 7

Apollo 17 flight plan apparently

reached the , uh , Peak of perfection .

Uh , I was a little bit disappointed in

that briefing and that , uh , some of

the , uh , people who would be

eventually intimately involved in the

mission were not at the , uh , flight

plan review . And I think this was

because of . Of , uh ,

Conflicts uh with other programs which

were the center was carrying out at the

time .

OK , 24.0 visual sightings .

Well , uh , we've covered the countdown

and , uh , Launch , I think , pretty

well . In the , uh ,

Previous sections . Uh ,

Also powered flight , Earth orbit . I

think the transcript would cover the

visual sightings that I made with

respect to uh . Uh , weather and , uh ,

and a few geographic , uh ,

Observations and the same would go for

the uh fairly uh . Extensive ,

uh , weather observations that , uh , I

tried to make Earth or translunar .

Uh , Trans Earth , we had only a , uh ,

small crescent of an Earth , and it was

not feasible to do an extensive , uh .

Weather observations . Uh , I don't

know whether I've recorded yet that ,

uh , although we had light flashes , uh ,

just about continuously during the

whole flight when you , uh , when it

was when you were dark adapted . And I

may have even had one which I thought

was a flash on the lunar surface . Uh ,

during the first rev . Um ,

That one period of time when we had the

blindfolds on for the OPMed experiment ,

uh , there just , uh , were no visible

flashes , although the next that

evening , that night , uh , before I

went to sleep , I noticed I was seeing

the light flashes again , so it just

seemed to be that one interval , uh ,

either side of that , that interval on

either side of it where the , uh ,

light flash phenomena was not , uh ,

visible to , uh , to myself or to the

other two crewmen .

Lunar orbit , uh , I think , uh , the

transcript and , uh ,

The , uh , my crew notebook would cover

all the visual sightings that , uh . I

can remember at this stage without , uh ,

going over it , uh , orbit by orbit and

feature by feature with the photography ,

and I think that has to come later .

Entry we've covered in the , uh ,

previous , uh , briefings . And I think

the same goes for landing and recovery .

Why don't you stop for a second , Tex .

25.0 , premission planning for the LNP ,

uh ,

It's hard to think once again of

anything that we didn't do right . Uh ,

I'm sure that might have been different

had we had problems on the flight , but

right , the way the flight went . The

total plan , the integration of the

mission requirements into that plan .

Uh , although there were periods

of some , uh , difficulty , uh ,

pre-flight , uh , particularly in the

area of , uh , medical requirements .

Uh , And in some last minute ,

uh , Uh , possible

scientific requirements , um ,

particularly on the samples . Uh ,

everything seemed to get resolved

satisfactorily and as near as I could

tell . And , uh , I don't , uh , I

can't think of anything that , uh , Was

not handled very well in parti

particular between the people who uh

were leveling uh levying the

requirements and the flight planners in

particular and occasionally uh . Uh ,

when the crew had to be involved , uh ,

that was handled almost entirely , uh ,

by the support crew , uh Bob Parker in

the science area , and , uh . Cody

Fullerton and Bob Overmyer in the

operational areas .

There were no significant spacecraft

changes , uh , in the course of our .

Uh , training period . Uh , Ron , uh ,

I guess the biggest single area that ,

uh , took time was the one that Ron had

to deal with , and that was lunar

Sounder . Uh , most of our AE changes

were all taken care of , uh , prior to

our , our training , and , uh , we had

a few , uh , minor , uh , suggestions

that were , uh , taken care of early in

the training , uh , Cycle . And ,

uh , We essentially had an

up to-date , uh , ALSE to train with ,

uh . Uh , and all other lunar surface

gear was up to date for most of the ,

uh , 12 month training period .

Are the final 12 months of the training

period . Mission

rules and techniques , uh , were fairly

well defined very early by Phil

Schaffer and his crowd . Uh , in the

techniques area and the mission rules ,

certainly Jerry Griffin and , and , uh ,

people working on that , uh , no major

changes and only the only changes were

all I felt in the right direction and

that they enhance the probability of ,

of making a , a , a landing and a

successful mission . They opened

generally we're in the area of opening

up . Possibilities for

workarounds so that a mission could be

completed . We really never had to

exercise any significant , any of the

mission rules in a , in the , the . In

an abnormal way . I think the one time

that , uh , mission rule tended to ,

Let me finish this , Chuck . I'll be

right . Omission rule tended to be , uh ,

fairly clearly a controlling factor was ,

uh , in the limitation on the , uh .

The work at station 4 Shorty Crater

where we were up against the walk back

constraints and terminated that work

after only 35 minutes . For another .

30 minutes there I think would have

been extremely valuable , although I ,

uh , I hope that we got , uh , Enough

information that , uh , Phenomenon , uh ,

Exposed at that crater can be

understood . OK , why don't you stop

and I'll talk . 26.0 mission

control .

Typically outstanding support for

Mission Control . I think the ,

uh , This includes the ,

uh , number of extracurricular hours

that , uh , Uh , the , uh ,

Limb people and the ECOs , uh , for the

CSM in particular , Put in , uh ,

with me on Saturdays and , uh , and

other times , uh , just generally

talking over systems and techniques and

mission rules and , uh , that was a

major factor in , uh , helping me

understand , uh , and keep up to speed

on the on those , uh , items . I think ,

uh , the help that they gave me in

designing and uh . The fact is they

essentially did it . They did the

design of the , uh , emergency uh cue

cards that we did for Apollo 17 for the

limb where it was a . Uh , major

contribution , although fortunately not .

We did not use them . They still , uh ,

Made it possible to understand , uh ,

very quickly , uh , sys systems

problems and to solve those problems ,

uh , in the simulations and had we

required them , uh , I think it would

have gone very well . I

particularly want to , uh , point out

the , uh , Help Thorson .

Gave in organizing , uh , most of the ,

uh , Uh , limb sessions .

And even some of the , uh , joint CSM

limb sessions that we had .

And he also , uh , Thorson also uh .

Was a major , uh , organizer of the ,

uh , Creation of and the uh

updating of those emergency cue cards .

Human factors 27.0 .

All right , let's go back . Let's see ,

one other comment on 26.0 . Postflight ,

it's my understanding that Some of

the Things I had hoped

could be done during the flight were

not possible . Because of

Real time discussions in the , uh ,

mission control . Specifically , uh ,

one of those things was to have ,

Some summary of the thinking .

Of the uh science background .

Given to me , uh , while in flight and

that would be the thinking based . On

the data that we had transmitted to

them verbally and in a sense visually

through the television camera . I had

hoped that I would have the benefit of

their thinking . Uh , but apparently ,

uh , this was not , uh , Possible to do .

I would like to think that in the

future we can look at ways of Of

using the uh the team approach to

science investigations . In space

rather than depending solely on the uh

observational capability and the

interpretive capability of the uh of

the men who are performing the uh job .

There's no reason that I can see to not

use all the brainpower that's available

for any given task , and part of that

brainpower is on the ground .

OK , 27.0 .

Human factors preflight .

The brunt of the discussions and

organization from the crew point of

view of the pre-flight health

stabilization control program was borne

by the commander . Uh , And uh

Uh , the LNP just , uh , sort of , uh ,

went along with whatever was decided .

I personally did not find .

Any great difficulty in , uh , working

out and adhering to the requirements of

the , uh , of that , uh , program .

I think medical care Although very ,

very limited , uh , requirement was

good . Uh , Uh , a couple

of sinus infections I had , uh ,

reacted just like they always had , and ,

uh , we were able over a period of 2 ,

10 days or 2 weeks to get those cleared

up . Time

for exercise , uh , probably was , uh ,

less than it should have been ,

although , uh , I was able to , uh ,

get a good workout just about every

other day in addition to the , uh ,

workouts we got as a normal course of

our EBA training . Uh , eventually , uh ,

techs , uh , started scheduling ,

putting on the schedule , uh , time ,

uh , In the late afternoon for exercise ,

and that helped , uh , as a reminder

and , uh , And buffer

to see that that exercise was obtained .

It is generally hard , in the , at

least in the lunar training program ,

to get exercise periods in during the

day and , uh , quite frequently , uh ,

the exercise was done in the Cape gym

at night . I

think rest and sleep , uh , is an

individual thing , and I made a

particular effort to , uh , always get

as , as much as I possibly could and

try never to get behind the power curve

on rest , uh , because , uh , my

personal experience is that that is

when I tend to get colds and , uh ,

resulting sinus infections .

Medical briefing , uh , was good .

Uh , the exams , uh , seem to go , uh ,

very well in my , uh , estimation . Uh ,

They were as expeditious as possible

under the circumstances . And the ,

uh , I think the , uh , operational

medical personnel who carried out the

exams are to be complemented in their ,

uh , Uh , efforts to , uh ,

To see that the exam was as painless

and as efficient as possible . And this

should also include the uh postflight

exams on the uh Ticonderoga .

Eating habits and amount of food

consumption , uh , were normal , uh ,

except during those periods of time

when we , Uh , on the in-flight food .

Prior to launch , and , uh , those

times there tended to be , in my case ,

a decrease of appetite . And , uh ,

certainly a , uh , Although the food

was certainly palatable . Uh , my

appetite did go down . And it certainly

was not possible for me to eat the

amount of food that was provided for me .

This , uh , also applied to space work .

But in the case of the , uh ,

In flight , uh , eating . Although I

did not eat everything that was

available to me in my , uh , food

packages , I , uh , apparently should

needed to if I hadn't wanted to , uh ,

avoid losing weight . My appetite was

down , but also apparently , uh , uh ,

for some reason , uh , I had a loss of

weight . And it , uh , At this

time of this recording , my weight is

still down , has , has not , uh . Gone

up to uh preflight . Levels ,

which may have been a little high , by

the way .

OK , uh , 17.2 , flight , appetite and

food preference . Well , I just

discussed that a little bit , and , uh ,

The appetite in flight versus two weeks

preflight , uh , was less , again ,

except for when we were testing the

preflight food when I also had a low

appetite . Uh ,

no notable differences in the taste of

food . Uh , I think the things I liked

pre-flight , uh , I , I liked in space ,

and the things I didn't like , I also

didn't like . I didn't notice any

differences . Uh ,

A change in food preferences for flight

progressed . I tended to start to

prefer to eat the wet packs and would ,

uh , Eat those ,

uh , in preference to any of the other ,

uh , solid foods . I would strongly

recommend , uh , From my personal point

of view , at any rate , uh , that food ,

that the wet packs be used in

preference to the , uh , rehydratable .

Now , I know , I think that probably

you get a different opinion from , uh ,

the other crewmen .

The juices were good . I , uh , after

the first period of one and only , uh ,

period of difficulty with loose , uh ,

bowel movements , I did cut out the

potassium . Indicated foods , uh ,

and although I can't say whether that

had any effect or not , but , uh , I

did not have any other loose , I did

not have any other bowel movements ,

and certainly no more loose ones . In ,

uh , uh , before the end of the flight .

The , uh ,

First bowel movement after flight on

the Ticonderoga was , uh , normal .

The 2nd was very loose , the 3rd was

normal , and the 4th and 5th very loose .

The size of food portions and the meal

portions , uh , Of course , we're

pretty much constant , uh . In terms of

availability . Packaging , uh ,

but in my , uh , appetite , uh , was

very low the first , uh , day and

gradually , uh , increased . Uh , over

the next two or three days and remained

essentially the same , uh , after , uh ,

about the 3rd day .

I mentioned the most acceptable foods

were the wet packs and the juices . Uh ,

the fruit cake I thought was good ,

although , uh , it was possible to eat

too much or to get to a point where you

didn't want any more . Uh , the , uh ,

chocolate was good .

I think of the , uh , dry , uh ,

crackers or cookies , the graham

crackers , uh , were probably the most ,

uh , Uh ,

Tasty .

And , uh , peanut butter and jelly

sandwiches were quite good .

Uh , deviations from the menu and the

periods , uh , are all recorded in the ,

uh , flight , uh , transcripts , I'm

sure . OK , food preparation

and consumption .

Uh , rehydration , uh , went ,

uh , I think , normally , uh , and the

nominal gas was present . Food

temperature , uh , tended to prefer ,

uh , uh , the , uh , foods that were

warm or hot , and , uh , they were ,

the hot water was quite adequate for ,

uh , Uh , warm foods . Uh , we actually ,

I think , missed the warm foods

considerably in the limb where that hot

water was not available .

I did not notice uh an effect of water

flavor . The water was , was reasonably

tasty . I mean , it , uh , did not . I

never noticed a high , uh , chlorine ,

uh , taste of any kind . Although the

gas content did make it , uh , a little

bit uncomfortable to eat at times .

Boom bow packages worked pretty well

although those that uh were uh finally

divided I tended to cut off the other

end of the package , the water

insertion end , and , uh , use them as

a squeeze package . Spoons work

perfectly adequate . I tended not to

use the fruit in the cans because of

just the messiness of opening and . Uh ,

those , although they're , uh , I think

the technique that Ron , uh , worked

out , uh , of opening it in your , in ,

in or near your mouth , uh , is a , uh ,

good one .

Uh , puddings and this kind of thing

were very good . It was only the fruits ,

the canned fruits that I tended to

avoid just because they were

inconvenient to use .

Food bars uh during the EVAs , uh , I

think were good to have , although I

never ate more than half of one . It

wasn't because it was untasty . It's

just because of , of a , uh . Maybe a

lack of , uh , interest in eating , uh ,

and using that time during the EVAs .

Uh , we , I think after the EVA ,

before and after EVAs and the limb , uh ,

ate very well . There were some things ,

though , we did not , uh , we avoided ,

and I guess in my case , uh , after one .

Having corn chowder once and that's

stimulating a major bowel movement ,

although not a loose one . I tend to

not , I did not eat corn chowder . I

did not eat the cocoa because I tended

to feel like I got a little more , uh ,

uh , gas from cocoa and an aftertaste ,

I did not eat the , uh ,

Uh , Shrimp , uh , the

seafood , uh , items , shrimp and the

lobster bisque and these sort of things ,

uh , because of , uh , pre-flight I had

noticed that they tended to have a long

aftertaste . But otherwise , I think

all the other foods were certainly

acceptable . Yeah , although , uh ,

many times I did not eat , uh , potato

based foods .

Because of , uh , just , uh , they were

very filling .

I was going . 33 day hold on

that .

OK , food , waste , storage . I don't

know how the Germanidal tablet worked .

Uh , the , the pouch was OK , uh .

Would have been nice to have a little

uh dispenser that was easier to use

than the pouch . I don't know whether

that would be possible to do or not .

dispenser of some kind where they came

It seems to me it would a little tube

out more easily and you didn't . Tend

to , we generally just cut the corner

off a pouch and and squeezed them out ,

but it did , uh , it was a little

inconvenient , no , nothing major . We

use the germicidal tablets , I did at

any rate , and , uh , and all the juice

bags and the food spoon bowl bags and

the wet packs . Uh , I did not use them

in the tea and coffee .

Undesirable odors really except for

The uh . Passing of gas occasionally ,

uh , By the other crewmen and some

occasionally by myself , uh .

Uh , Undesirable odors were at a

minimum . I did not , uh , find that

the , uh , atmosphere was , uh ,

unpleasant , uh , as a general rule .

I might say that I , uh , generally had

a , uh , continuous , uh , almost

continuous , uh , passage of gas , most

of which apparently was not , uh , with

significant odor . Only occasionally

that , uh , it seemed to be , uh ,

Objectionable to the other crewmen .

And I think most of that was the water

gas . And the reason I think that .

It's a , Upon eating

Upon starting to eat . It would be an

increased desire to pass gas .

Increased pressure in my stomach

apparently was transmitted almost

immediately into the bowels . And I

would , after eating , would pass gas

for a couple hours to 3 hours .

And just before eating the next time ,

the desire would , uh , have , have

pretty well dissipated and then it

would start again immediately , I mean ,

immediately upon eating before any

digestion was possible , I'm sure . So

I suspect water gas was the main , uh ,

Culprit in uh in the LNP's uh gas

problems . Which were not significant .

Quantity of food eaten on the lunar

surface , I think was , was high ,

although , uh , probably no more than

half of that food that was available .

It's hard to say exactly , and I think

that could be worked out . Maybe with a

detailed look at the menus if that uh

If that is desirable .

And to estimate the quantity would be

very difficult . Food , food , quantity

of food discarded . On the lunar

surface . It'll be difficult without

looking at the detailed menus and

checking off those items that I'm sure

we ate , that I ate at any rate .

Skylab eco container . I remember we

had that . Though she did , but . We

use a blue bag . Oh , that's right . We ,

we've been on 14 I guess . The blue bag

is not a bad way to , uh , to defecate

unless the stool is loose . If it's

loose , it's just about impossible to

use . And , uh ,

I don't know what you do . In

geogravity . For loose stools ,

I don't know of any clever way . To

prevent that being a problem , and I'm

not even sure whatever the Skylab

people are using will prevent that from

being a problem . The best thing you

can do is to work out prevention of

loose stools rather than trying to

handle them after you get them . It is .

Um , loose stool is one of the major ,

Hygiene and sanitary ,

And operational problems that you can

have on a flight . I can't emphasize

that more . You can , if it happened on

a regular basis , on a daily basis .

You would , I think , eventually cut

the efficiency of the crew member with

the problem , uh , by a significant

percentage , possibly as much as 30% ,

depending on the magnitude of the

problem . I think it's important to try

to understand why . Uh , Apollo

17 was different than uh 16 and at

least in the . Uh ,

delay of a problem with loose stools

until about the 11th or 12th day . And

in the case of the commander , no

problem with loose stools , and my

personal opinion at this point based on

Very little , uh , information other

than observation in flight and thinking

about , Levels of Of

electrolyte intake . Is that with the ,

uh , electrolyte quantity down from

that , uh , imposed on Apollo

16 that we did not reach an electrolyte

saturation level until the 11th or 12th

day . In terms of this CMP and the

LMP , and in terms of the commander ,

because his electrolyte intake was

generally less , I think , and that can

be documented , he didn't , he did not

reach a saturation level at all . And

when that saturation level was reached ,

however , in the case of the CMP and

LMP , I suspect that the electrolytes

we were eating were dumped in a sense

or concentrated in the intestines and

tended to act pretty much as a laxative .

And as a , uh , an Epsom salt type

laxative , if you will , and

concentrate water in the stool .

I think it's important for Skylab that ,

uh , first of all , we probably

reduce the electrolyte intake so that

saturation is never reached . And

secondly , that if a loose stool

problem develops , it appears to be an

electrolyte problem rather than any

other biological problem . Uh ,

That , uh ,

That , uh , we , uh , Uh ,

decrease the , uh , intake of

electrolytes . This is what I did on my

own and , and , uh , whether or not it

worked or not it's hard to say because

the flight was terminated before any ,

uh , other , uh , stools . Occurred .

OK , water , chlorientation odor was

not apparent to me except during

chlorination . Iodine taste and odor is

very slight , apparent in the limb

water , but not . Not

of any significance to the LNP ?

Physical discomfort . No

physical discomfort for the LNP other

than , uh , tiredness on occasion and ,

uh , In the case of the Of the , uh ,

EVA work , uh , sore muscles and , uh ,

The bruises under the fingernails .

Gas water separator didn't work very

effectively , and I'm sure that's been

discussed elsewhere . Uh , intensity of

thirst during mission , never really ,

uh , thirsty , uh , extensively thirsty ,

even during the , uh , EVAs , although

I did , uh , stop to take a drink of

water occasionally . But I never drunk ,

I never drank all the water in the

in-flight , uh , drink bag , in suit

drink bag .

Work , rest and sleep .

OK .

Hey Tex , could you try to call the uh .

Called the trailer . What was I ? Work ,

rest , sleep for the LNP . Uh ,

the difficulty in going to sleep was

variable . And when Seconal was used ,

uh , generally no difficulty in going

to sleep . When it was not used , I

guess there was a tendency to stay

awake a little bit longer , but on

other occasions , uh , The absence

seekconal did not seem to , to affect

the rate of going to sleep . There was

a tendency on a couple , on several

nights to go to sleep and then wake up

fairly soon after going to sleep within

an hour , and then the second time took

a little bit , maybe sometimes took up

to an hour to go back to sleep .

Uh , but I feel that the medical log

reports that for the LNP were , uh ,

generally valid , that probably an

average of 5.5 to 6 hours of sleep per

night was good , and I don't think ,

except for maybe one night somewhere in

there , uh , did I go much below that ,

but the sleep was rarely probably never

continuous for more than , uh , 3

hours without waking up .

Uh , I feel that 6 hours is , uh , is

adequate sleep for the kind of work we

were doing in space . Uh , however ,

the programming of 8 hours is is

necessary in order to get 6 hours

because of the . Periods of wakefulness ,

uh , when , uh , during sleep periods ,

and for just the difficulty in getting

the cabin organized and , and everybody

to bed at the program time . So

maintaining an 8 hour sleep period is ,

is , I think , mandatory in order to ,

uh , obtain the 6 hours that is

probably , uh , all that is required ,

uh , to , to perform the mission . Uh ,

Without getting , uh , tired or getting

behind the power curve , as I say with

respect to sleep .

Restraints , uh , I had the feeling

that , uh , finding by the way ? Hm .

I had the feeling , uh , that I wanted

to have my head ,

And limbs restrained in order to get a

good sleep , although I did sleep at

times without , without that restraint .

I , if I were rebuilding the sleep

restraints , uh , for my personal use ,

I would make them smaller with a

somewhat more , uh , uh , feeling of

restraint . They're a little bit large ,

I would say , for , for use .

Um ,

When I slept on the couch , I tended to

put a shoulder strap over my head and

cinch it down very lightly so that I

had that feeling of head restraint . Uh ,

probably the biggest two things that

made sleep difficult .

When it was difficult was the loss of

sensory , uh , perception of limb

position in zero gravity when , when

they were not being moved . That

perception came back immediately upon

moving them . But when they were just

static and , and in rest position , uh ,

there tended to be , uh , for , for the

LNP , at any rate , a loss of sensory

perception of the position of the ,