So how come NASA said that the Apollo 13 crew would have frozen to death if not for their 'life pod'? Wouldn't they have cooked in the radiation?
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This trope is borked. As the "Analysis" page aptly explains, Space IS cold - about 2.7 Kelvin, in fact (just above absolute zero due to the background microwave radiation). It takes things a while to cool down in space, because there are virtually no molecules to strip away heat by convection or conduction, so the only way for an object to cool is through radiation. Once they finally cool down, however, they'll be practically absolute zero.
While the trope is correct insofar as "space" is not a substance that can be cold, the truth is that, absent a star or other energy source, outer space is just about the coldest possible place.
http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/980301b.html
Flawless Victree
Page image suggestion: Arnold's frozen head.
"Okay, yeah, I guess Ollie fits the goofy sidekick role, but being a princess doesn't mean I spontaneously sing about everything, 'kay?" Hide / Show Replies
This
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ould someone with more research skills than myself add the MIR collision (June 25, 1997) to "Real Life"? The Spektr module in particular was supposed to have been very cold as a result.
My head hurts a bit from the physics, but kudos to everyone who worked out the science behind this trope.
How is it that you would die of heat stroke in Earth's orbit? The radiation could kill you, sure, but would you really feel hot considering that even when you are on top of a particularly high mountain on Earth, there is less atmosphere, and it can be permanently freezing cold?
Loves feel-good animation a whole lot.