Apollo 13: Big 6 Version - Essay Example

• An oxygen tank exploded. The Apollo 13 crew was forced to hobble home in a disabled capsule after an explosion seriously damaged the moon-bound spacecraft.
• Locate information that will help rescue astronauts and bring the damaged spacecraft safely to Earth.
1.2 Identify Information Needed
• What is wrong with Apollo 13?
• How do we fix it?
• How do we keep the astronauts from dying of CO2 poisoning?
• How do we power the module back up for re-entry with only a limited amount of amps available?
2. Information Seeking Strategies

2.1 Identify Sources
• Capsule Communicator (CapCom): communications between astronauts and Houston.
• Computer diagnostics
• Flight Controllers meeting
• Simulator
2.2 Select the Best Sources
• From what astronauts have told to CapCom, Mission Control could know what was happening on Apollo 13.
• Astronauts could receive orders from Mission Control based on computer diagnostics.
• At the meeting, the flight controllers discuss the best plan for the crew’s safe return.

3. Location and Access
3.1 Locate Sources
All sources are physically located in either Apollo 13 or Houston.
• The Mission Control is located in Houston and the flight controllers are gathered at Mission Control to discuss their solutions for rescue operations.
• In the simulator, Mattingly (backup crew) is enlisted to help figure out the power-up procedure for re-entry.
3.2 Find Information within Sources
• Astronauts have only 15 minutes of life support oxygen level in the Command Module.
• The Command Module is only good for re-entry.
• In the flight controllers’ meeting, they decide to choose the free return trajectory.
• CO2 levels in the LEM rise because the filters are not intended for three people.
4. Use of Information
4.1 Engage (Read, Hear, View, Touch)
• Astronauts make their way through the tunnel from the Command Module (CM) to Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) which has some oxygen, using it as a lifeboat.
• The Apollo 13 crew power down in the LEM because they need to save power for the re-entry batteries.
• By following the engineers’ instruction, the crew built a filter and CO2 levels drop.

4.2 Extract Relevant Information
• The way to make a filter decreasing CO2 level in the LEM is extracted from the computer diagnostics and delivered by CampCom.
• Backup crew in the simulator and computer diagnostics work together to get the power-up procedure for the free return trajectory.
5. Synthesis
5.1Organize from Multiple Sources
• The crew builds a filter to decrease the CO2 level by following the engineers’ instructions through CampCom.
• By shutting down the power in the LEM, the crew can save energy for the re-entry batteries.
5.2 Present the Information
• In addition to the successful power-up procedure, the manual course correction without the guidance computer is also succeeded.

6. Evaluation
6.1Judge the Product Effectiveness
• From a strict information literacy standpoint, it was entirely successful as the astronauts were indeed able to return home safely.
6.2 Judge the Process Efficiency
• The Apollo 13 and Mission Control have limited experience and access and yet manage to make efficient and effective use of sources:
• They identify that they have an information need and describe the task, they identify possible sources and pay attention to the best sources, they locate and extract relevant information from their sources, they synthesize, organize and present their information.

Conclusion
Apollo 13 is a Big 6 dream. It would not have sufficed to simply locate information sources in the plot of this movie. The characters needed to be able to identify, interpret, and organize, evaluate and function independently. Neither librarian nor teacher was there to help them. Read More