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Apollo 13
Spacecraft
A near-catastrophic NASA mission in 1970 that suffered an oxygen tank explosion en route to the Moon, forcing the crew to orbit the Moon without landing and return safely to Earth after ingenious problem-solving by ground control and astronauts.
Key Facts
organization | NASA |
orbital regime | Inner System |
learn more | Wikipedia |
crew | Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, Fred Haise |
launched | 1970-04-11 |
returned | 1970-04-17 |
launch mass | 44,069 kg |
Mission Timeline
Launched
April 11, 1970 at 19:13 UTC
Luna (The Moon)
Flyby
After suffering a catastrophic oxygen tank explosion en route to the Moon, Apollo 13 used lunar gravity for a "slingshot" maneuver to return safely to Earth in what became known as a "successful failure."
Returned
April 17, 1970 at 18:07 UTC
After suffering a critical oxygen tank explosion that forced the crew to abort their lunar landing mission, Apollo 13 and its crew safely splashed down in the South Pacific Ocean on April 17, 1970, following a harrowing four-day return journey.
Related Spacecraft
Apollo 8
Launched in 1968
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The first crewed mission to orbit the Moon, launched on December 21, 1968, with astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders completing 10 lunar orbits and capturing the iconic "Earthrise" photograph before returning safely to Earth.
Apollo 10
Launched in 1969
Crewed by Thomas Stafford, Gene Cernan, John Young
The Apollo 10 mission, launched in May 1969, served as a full dress rehearsal for the Moon landing, with astronauts flying the Lunar Module to within 8.4 nautical miles of the lunar surface before returning safely to Earth.
Apollo 11
Launched in 1969
Crewed by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins
The first crewed spacecraft to land humans on the Moon launched on July 16, 1969, carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins on their historic mission that culminated in Armstrong and Aldrin's 21-hour lunar surface exploration while Collins orbited above.
Apollo 12
Launched in 1969
Crewed by Pete Conrad, Alan Bean, Richard Gordon
The second crewed mission to land on the Moon, launched on November 14, 1969, successfully landed astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean near Surveyor 3 in Oceanus Procellarum for a 31.5-hour lunar surface stay.
Apollo 14
Launched in 1971
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Apollo 15
Launched in 1971
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Apollo 15 landed astronauts David Scott and James Irwin on the Moon's Hadley-Apennine region in July 1971, where they conducted three EVAs, deployed scientific instruments, and became the first mission to use the Lunar Roving Vehicle.
Apollo 16
Launched in 1972
Crewed by John Young, Ken Mattingly, Charlie Duke
Launched in April 1972, Apollo 16 carried astronauts John Young and Charles Duke to the Moon's Descartes Highlands where they conducted three EVAs, collected 95.8 kg of lunar samples, and set a lunar land speed record of 17.1 km/h in their rover.
Apollo 17
Launched in 1972
Crewed by Gene Cernan, Ronald Evans, Jack Schmitt
The final mission in the Apollo program, launched on December 7, 1972, carried astronauts Eugene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt, and Ronald Evans to the Moon, where Cernan and Schmitt conducted three EVAs totaling 22 hours in the Taurus-Littrow valley while Evans orbited above.
