Couple of questions about astronauts/space journeys

I've a question or 3 about astronauts you might be able to help me with. These strange stories tend to stick in my brain for years, unfortunately the most important details disappear through the memory sieve.


1. I remember being told that three astronauts who died (on re-entry I think) were found all with smiles on their faces due to some gas in their landing pod. Who were they, what was their journey about, and what's the gas that kills you smiling?

2. I was shown a photo or footage (can't remember which) of astronauts doing their press call after a visit to the moon, (I think it was a moon visit). Anyway, instead of being very happy and smiling that they'd accomplished their great feat, they looked quite miserable on the stage in front of the cameras and media (in comparison to previous visits to space where everyone came back and celebrated and enjoyed the attention) and the reason for this (according to some conspiracists) was that they'd witnessed something seriously anomalous on their visit and they ordered to keep it hush-hush, or else. Who were they and which Apollo were they on? What was rumoured to have happened? Does anyone have that pic/footage?

reply to post by wigit

1. I remember being told that three astronauts who died (on re-entry I think) were found all with smiles on their faces due to some gas in their landing pod. Who were they, what was their journey about, and what's the gas that kills you smiling?

Soyuz 11 depressurized during re-entry, killing the cosmonauts. There is no report of them smiling:

en.wikipedia.org...

2. I was shown a photo or footage (can't remember which) of astronauts doing their press call after a visit to the moon, (I think it was a moon visit). Anyway, instead of being very happy and smiling that they'd accomplished their great feat, they looked quite miserable on the stage in front of the cameras and media (in comparison to previous visits to space where everyone came back and celebrated and enjoyed the attention) and the reason for this (according to some conspiracists) was that they'd witnessed something seriously anomalous on their visit and they ordered to keep it hush-hush, or else. Who were they and which Apollo were they on? What was rumoured to have happened? Does anyone have that pic/footage?

Astronauts are usually exhausted after the rigors of spaceflight. Often, they have to be carried away in special chairs when they suffer from being exposed to Earth's gravity again. Lunar astronauts not only suffered from the physical strain of two weeks in microgravity, they were also kept in isolation for two additional weeks. By the time they were put through the media circus of a press conference, all they could think about was returning home to their wives and families and sleeping in their own beds. People who expect the astronauts to be turning handsprings fail to understand this and ascribe the astronauts' lack of enthusiasm to something sinister.

reply to post by DJW001


Thanks v much for the info.

I think I got the first story from a TV show. Something like Sightings maybe? The one about the sour-pussed astronauts, I got at a UFO conference.

Dang, those conspiracy theorists.

After a quick bit of googling, I think my first story was about the men from Soyez-11. Poor guys.