Apollo 13, Zond, Marooned and... Lenin birthday

[libra]

It is an amusing coincidence that could make the pitch of a novel / book / fiction...

The pitch

Zond was to beat Apollo "near" (not ON) the moon for the October revolution 50th anniversary: early November 1967.

We all know the date completely went by the window, and then Apollo completely crushed Zond.

Yet in one of the last gasp of the program Mishin tried the "propaganda date" trick with another anniversary:

Lenin centennial.

The date ? April 21, 1970.  Also the first Earth day (talk about weird coincidences !)

https://www.nytimes.com/1970/04/13/archives/will-apollo-13-upstage-moscows-lenin-centennial.html
(written only hours before Apollo 13 blew, damn it...  talk about stealing Lenin thunder !)

Of course the Soviet leadership said that a lunar flyby would look pathetic and it never, ever happened.

Now look at this link... and there the story become pretty weird.

https://books.google.fr/books?id=W1f4TvNUwLsC&pg=PA205&lpg=PA205&dq=%22apollo+13%22%22zond%22%22lenin%22&source=bl&ots=ZfQENXgYOe&sig=ACfU3U2IEH5rVqIA9SWai5Uf5nOYOuuUDA&hl=fr&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjcuqz7y7brAhWLzoUKHZ15C-oQ6AEwAXoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22apollo%2013%22%22zond%22%22lenin%22&f=false

Zond missions lasted 8 to 9 days. Substract that from Lenin birthday, add some margin and poof: on April 12 (Gagarin day, on top of THAT !) Zond 9 is standing ontop of a Proton in Baikonur, ready to launch.

On a free return trajectory not unlike that of Apollo 13 "soon to happen" rescue... free return trajectory.

Make no mistake, I know that rescue by a Zond would be impossible. Docking is impossible, and EVA transfers ? a nightmare.

Note that while Zond was build for two men, it was for up to 9 days. cut that to 4 days (Apollo blew on the 14 and had returned by the 18, so doable) and three guys fit, just like the soyuz pre-Soyuz-11, that is, without suits.

Also, Marooned had hit theaters in December 1969 and (indirectly) triggered early discussions over Apollo - Soyuz... the talks had already started by spring 1970.

Thought ?

[JoeFromRIUSA]

Uh, just because the Zond MIGHT have had consumables for 9 days, it was built for two cosmonauts, not  two cosmonauts and 3 astronauts

[DaveS]

Uh, just because the Zond MIGHT have had consumables for 9 days, it was built for two cosmonauts, not  two cosmonauts and 3 astronauts

Exactly this. Not to mention that the Descent Module was built for no more than 3 cosmonauts, each with his own custom form-fitted seat-liner. The way Soyuz/Zond lands, it would not have been a pleasant landing for the A13 crew. Most Soyuz crews have described landing as a "car crash" and that's with everything working as designed and the crew strapped in. The A13 crew would have been "free-floating" the entire way down. So the EDL might very well have ended very badly for them, I wouldn't rule out fatalities.

So this is an idea that only works on the surface. The moment you start looking at the details, it all falls apart.

[libra]

That the express reason why I posted it in "entertainement" rather than "historical spaceflight". 

It certainly needs some "suspension of disbelief" to work. Then again, both 1964 and 1969 Marooned needed that, too.

There is no question that the Zond was a clunker and that OTL Apollo 13 as it happened was perfect, as it brought back all three crew alive, and that's what matters most.

Some more details

In this scenario, Zond has been prepared to fly with two, but its reentry module has same diameter as the LOK or Earth orbit Soyuz, which sat three without suits. Admittedly, with couches molded on the cosmonauts size,  backs and... rear ends.
So what they do ? they swap two couches from the Zond for three Soyuz ones. No easy fit obviously. And launch the thing unmanned, on the heels of Apollo 13, since the free-return trajectories were somewhat similar.

Alternatives: Zond is outfitted with a camera to inspect Apollo 13. Or loaded with some much needed CO2 scrubbers cartridges.
Recovery of that stuff, obviously, would be a dangerous PITA.

Just asking in passing: how hard is it to rendez-vous in deep space, on a Earth-Moon-Earth free return trajectory ?

[JoeFromRIUSA]

Zond and Apollo would be entering a lunar trajectory from different earth orbital inclinations. Would this guarantee they'd never come close at any point of the return  flight home?