All missions

Every mission we cover, by year.

Filters1

Filter missions

Decade

Program

All programs

Program

Apollo (18)

Agency

All agencies

Agency

NASA (18)

Vehicle

All vehicles

Vehicle

Apollo spacecraft (18)
Saturn V (12)

Destination

All destinations

Destination

Moon (18)

Outcome

Jim Lovell

Sort by

Photo: NASA Johnson Space Center / Public domain (US government work)
11 April 1970

Apollo 13

"Houston, we've had a problem"

Open mission

Apollo 13 lifted off for the Moon on 11 April 1970, and about 56 hours into the flight an oxygen tank in the service module ruptured. Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise used the lunar module Aquarius as a lifeboat, swung around the Moon and splashed down safely in the Pacific on 17 April.
18 video perspectives
- Apollo 13: How a Wrecked Spacecraft Brought Its Crew Home
  
  Apollo 13 lifted off on April 11, 1970, but an oxygen tank explosion about 200,000 miles from Earth ended its Moon landing plans.
  
  Published 16 Mar 2012
- Apollo 13: The Oxygen Tank Explosion and the Crew’s Return
  
  This 1994 documentary follows Apollo 13 from its April 11, 1970 launch through the oxygen tank explosion on the way to the Moon.
  
  Published 3 Mar 2018
- Apollo 13: Oxygen Tank Explosion and the Lunar Module Lifeboat
  
  Apollo 13 launched April 11, 1970, and was meant to land at Fra Mauro.
  
  Published 2 Oct 2019
- Apollo 13: Home Safe, Survival After the Oxygen Tank Explosion
  
  NASA's documentary on Apollo 13 draws on interviews with astronauts Jim Lovell and Fred Haise and flight directors Gene Kranz and Glynn Lunney.
  
  Published 11 Apr 2020
14 more on the mission page