Apollo mission

  • Liftoff

    Liftoff
    Apollo 13 launched at 1:13 p.m. on April 11, sending commander Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), lunar module pilot Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) and command module pilot Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) up on a Saturn V rocket at Kennedy Space Center.
  • "Houston, we've had a problem"

    "Houston, we've had a problem"
    A short bang and vibration warns the crew that one of their oxygen tanks has blown up, according to NASA. The explosion also led to another tank failing, and the command module's normal supply of electricity, light and water was lost. Jack Swigert reports, “I believe we've had a problem here.” When asked to repeat, he says, “Houston, we've had a problem.”
  • Losing oxygen

    Losing oxygen
    Jim Lovell reports that they are venting something out into outer-space as he stares out the window of the command module
  • Moving into the lunar module

    Moving into the lunar module
    As part of their strategy for returning safely to Earth, on April 13 the astronauts powered down the command/service module and powered up the lunar module, which was supposed to be used to touch down onto the moon's surface.
  • T.V. Broadcast

    T.V. Broadcast
    Just before 9 p.m. on April 13, the astronauts end a broadcast which was never actually aired on live television in which they had given a tour of their spacecraft. Lovell signs off with, “This is the crew of Apollo 13 wishing everyone there a nice evening.”
  • The far side of the moon

    The far side of the moon
    As they continued on their return to Earth, the Apollo 13 crew disappeared behind the moon, on April 14, Lovell contacts Mission Control by saying, “Good morning, Houston. How do you read”
  • Clearing out the carbon dioxide

    Clearing out the carbon dioxide
    In response to a carbon dioxide build up on the spacecraft, Mission Control built a device to clear out the build up & sent up the procedure for building the device to the crew so they can clear out the dangerous gas.
  • The mailbox

    The mailbox
    On April 15, the three astronauts finish constructing their first carbon dioxide scrubber, which they referred to as a mailbox
  • Goodbye, lunar module

    Goodbye, lunar module
    the crew prepared for the final stages of their journey to return home as they detached the lunar module on April 17
  • Goodbye Space Hello Earth

    Goodbye Space Hello Earth
    Apollo 13 returns to earth with the world anxiously watching the astronauts entered Earth's atmosphere and splashed down 10 minutes later into the waters