A team on the moon collect samples of the spores they've discovered and blast off for Earth. But soon after booster separation the oxygen level drops and they loose consciousness. A rescue mission is launched from Earth, headed by Col. McCauley. They park alongside the silent ship and McCauley floats over to it. The airlock hatch doesn't open. An inspection of the hull reveals no damage. Pressing his helmet against the hull, he bangs with his fist and listens for a response. Nothing. McCauley returns to his ship.
Ground control instructs the rescue team to cut through the hull, which will vent any remaining oxygen, and retrieve the spore samples. But it occurs to McCauley that if the problem is a faulty carbon dioxide absorber rather than vented oxygen, the crew might still be alive. Ground control concurs. But time is short. The two ships will soon hit the atmosphere. McCauley brings an oxygen line over to the other ship and hooks it up. As oxygen flows McCauley knocks and listens again. Still nothing. He has no way of knowing that inside the stricken ship a crewman is reviving.
He lights his torch, but before he puts flame to metal, one last time, McCauley bangs on the hull. This time the crewman responds in kind. Then again. McCauley informs ground control, then instructs the groggy crewman how to manually open the frozen hatch. He finds the rest of the crew barely conscious but alive. McCauley pilots their ship home.
One of the best episodes, and one of the more prescient, with the rough similarity to the Apollo 13 adventure and their problem with carbon dioxide buildup.
Ground control instructs the rescue team to cut through the hull, which will vent any remaining oxygen, and retrieve the spore samples. But it occurs to McCauley that if the problem is a faulty carbon dioxide absorber rather than vented oxygen, the crew might still be alive. Ground control concurs. But time is short. The two ships will soon hit the atmosphere. McCauley brings an oxygen line over to the other ship and hooks it up. As oxygen flows McCauley knocks and listens again. Still nothing. He has no way of knowing that inside the stricken ship a crewman is reviving.
He lights his torch, but before he puts flame to metal, one last time, McCauley bangs on the hull. This time the crewman responds in kind. Then again. McCauley informs ground control, then instructs the groggy crewman how to manually open the frozen hatch. He finds the rest of the crew barely conscious but alive. McCauley pilots their ship home.
One of the best episodes, and one of the more prescient, with the rough similarity to the Apollo 13 adventure and their problem with carbon dioxide buildup.
