Apollo 13 was the seventh crewed mission in NASA's Apollo space program and was intended to land on the moon. However, the mission had to be aborted after an oxygen tank in the service module failed two days into the mission.

Despite the life-threatening situation, the crew and the mission control team on Earth managed to convert the Lunar Module, intended to land two astronauts on the moon, into a lifeboat to provide life support for the return trip to Earth. The mission was a successful failure, in that the crew survived and returned home safely, but did not achieve their original objective of landing on the moon.

The recovery of Apollo 13 was a dramatic demonstration of human ingenuity and teamwork, and has since been the subject of many books and a popular Hollywood movie. The mission led to design and procedural modifications to improve the safety of subsequent Apollo missions.

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Space Tracking Stations

The Dish (2000 movie)

Tom Hanks as Cmdr Lovell in Apollo 13 movie

NASA’s report on Apollo 13

Johnny Carson & Apollo 13 crew

Jim Lovell and NASA

Nixon on Apollo 13 successful return to earth

Omega Apollo space commercial

Honeysuckle, ACT