 |
| Photo Credit: Michael Kulp Location: US Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville, AL Date: March 1 2019 |
For emergency landings, survival equipment was provided to support Apollo astronauts for up to three days.
The survival items were in two rucksacks made of Armalon, a Teflon-coated glass fabric. They included numerous items like a raft, a radio and beacon transceiver, three water containers, a machete, a desalter kit, sunglasses, and combination survival lights.
Combination Survival-Light Assembly
The combination survival-light assembly provided an almost Swiss-army-level of gadgetry for astronauts in a survival situation.
It was a lightweight, hand-held unit used for visual signaling. It was made of grey-painted steel with brass fittings, and was made for NASA by ACR Electronics.
This one item included a strobe light, a flashlight, and a signal mirror. But wait! There's more: it also included a siren whistle, a compass, fire starters, cotton balls, halogen tablets, a water receptacle, knife blades, needles, nylon cord, and fishhooks.
NASA Technical Note TN D-6737 says:
"The combination survival light was developed for use in the Gemini Program. It satisfies the Apollo postlanding requirements. This item, intended for use during an emergency postlanding situation, has not been required during any mission. However, postflight testing demonstrated that the units remain functional."
Sources:
[1] NASA Technical Note TN D-6737, Fred A. McAllister, March 1972, https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/tnD6737%20-%20CrewProvisnsEquip.pdf
[2] National Air and Space Museum; https://www.si.edu/object/survival-light-combination-rucksack-1-apollo-11:nasm_A19980011001
