NASA celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission, which is touted as “a successful failure” that saw the safe return of its crew in spite of a catastrophic explosion. The crew of this mission consisted of Commander James (Jim) Lovell Jr., Command Module Pilot John Swigert Jr. and Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise Jr. Their Saturn V rocket launched at 2:13pm EST on April 11,1970, from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Read more for a video and additional information.
The command module was named Odyssey, and the lunar module was named Aquarius. While en route to the Moon on April 13, an Apollo service module oxygen tank ruptured, thus forcing the lunar landing and moonwalks, which would have been executed by Lovell and Haise, to be aborted as a dedicated team of flight controllers and engineering experts developed a plan to shelter the crew in the lunar module as a “lifeboat” and retain sufficient resources to bring the spacecraft and its crew back home safely.
- Detailed Lunar Replica - Features a detailed Eagle lunar lander replica with lunar surface, crater, footprints, and U.S. flag for a realistic space...
- Realistic Modular Model - This modular set includes a descent stage with gold-colored landing pads, panels, opening camera, laser hatches, and movable...
- Ascent Stage Interior - The ascent stage boasts a detailed interior with room for 2 astronaut minifigures, finished with an Apollo 11 Lunar Lander...
Our goal 50 years ago was to save our valiant crew after sending them around the Moon and return them safely to Earth. Our goal now is to return to the Moon to stay, in a sustainable way. We are working hard to ensure that we don’t need to respond to this kind of emergency in Artemis, but to be ready to respond to any problems we don’t anticipate,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.
