- This article is about the Moon mission. There is also a movie by the name of Apollo 13.
The Apollo 13 logo featured three flying horses, and the motto Ex luna, scientia (out of the moon, science), and the name of the mission in Roman numerals
- Launched: April 11, 1970 from Pad 39A
- Returned: April 17, 1970
- Crew members: Jim Lovell, commander; Jack Swigert, command module pilot; Fred Haise, lunar module pilot.
- Command module: Odyssey
- Lunar module: Aquarius
- Intended lunar landing site: Fra Mauro highlands
In order to accomplish a safe return to Earth, a significant course correction to place the spacecraft on a free return trajectory was required. This was performed by firing the lunar module's descent engine. The engine was fired again after passage around the Moon in order to accelerate the spacecraft's return to Earth. (As a result of following the free return trajectory, the altitude of Apollo 13 over the lunar far side was approximately 100 km greater than the corresponding orbital altitude on the remaining Apollo lunar missions. Though this difference is swamped by the variation in distance between Earth and the Moon owing to the eccentricity of the Moon's orbit about Earth, this fact has sometimes generated sentiment favouring the award of the world altitude record to the Apollo 13 crew).
Reentry in Earth's atmosphere required the unusual step of undocking and jettisoning the lunar module, which had been retained for the flight back to Earth, in addition to the separation of the damaged service module. The crew returned unharmed to Earth.
Jim Lovell's book about the mission, Lost Moon, was later turned into a successful movie, Apollo 13, starring Tom Hanks.
Mission notes:
- Swigert was a replacement for Ken Mattingly, who later flew to the Moon aboard Apollo 16. Mattingly was exposed to the measles prior to the mission, and NASA officials insisted upon removing him from the flight so as not to endanger the mission.
Actual quote: "Houston, we've had a problem" [1], first uttered by Swigert to ground, then repeated by Lovell.
The command module is currently displayed at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, Hutchinson, Kansas. It was formerly at the Musee de l'Air, Paris. The lunar module burned up in Earth's atmosphere 17 April, 1970.
Preceded by: Apollo 12 |
Apollo program | Followed by: Apollo 14 |