Apollo 13

space exploration · survival · teamwork · 1970s

Launched for the Moon. Apollo 13 blasted off from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, with astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise aboard, hoping to land on the Moon like previous Apollo missions had done.

Oxygen tank exploded. Two days into the mission, an oxygen tank in the service module suddenly burst, breaking the spacecraft's electrical and life-support systems and making a Moon landing impossible.

Lunar module saved them. The astronauts switched to the lunar module (the small spacecraft designed to land on the Moon) as a lifeboat, using its backup systems to survive the journey home.

Looped around the Moon. Instead of landing, the damaged spacecraft swung around the Moon and came back to Earth, following a path that took the crew on an incredible circumlunar journey.

Returned safely home. After working through many challenges with help from mission control, all three astronauts splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean on April 17, 1970.