on April 17, 1970, the spacecraft reentered Earth’s atmosphere. One hour before re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, the LM was disengaged from the CM. Then the re-pressurized CM was successfully powered up. On April 17, a last-minute navigational correction was made using Earth as an alignment guide. In these dismal conditions, Haise caught the flu. Lovell, Haise and Swigert huddled in the chilly lunar module for three long days. On April 15, 1970, Apollo 13 was 254 km (158 miles) from the lunar surface on the far side of the moon-and 400,171 km (248,655 miles) above the Earth’s surface, meaning the crew of Apollo 13 set a Guinness World Record for the farthest distance from Earth reached by humans. The Farthest Distance From Earth Reached by Humans The procedure was a success Apollo 13 was on its way home. Two hours after rounding the far side of the moon, the crew, using the sun as an alignment point, fired the LM’s small descent engine. Swigert and Haise took pictures and Lovell talked with mission control about the most difficult maneuver, a five-minute engine burn that would give the LM enough speed to return home before its energy ran out. On April 14, Apollo 13 swung around the moon. Navigation was also extremely complicated the LM had a more rudimentary navigational system, and the astronauts and mission control had to work out by hand the changes in propulsion and direction needed to take the spacecraft home. Mission control built an impromptu adapter out of materials known to be onboard, and the crew successfully copied their model. The square lithium hydroxide canisters from the CM were not compatible with the round openings in the LM environmental system, meaning the removal of carbon dioxide became a problem. The crew went on one-fifth water rations and endured cabin temperatures a few degrees above freezing to conserve energy. If the crew of Apollo 13 were to make it back to Earth alive, the LM would have to support three men for at least 90 hours and successfully navigate more than 200,000 miles of space.Ĭonditions on board the LM were challenging. The LM was only designed to transport astronauts from the orbiting CM to the moon’s surface and back again its power supply was meant to support two people for 45 hours. One hour after the explosion, mission control instructed the crew to move to the LM, which had sufficient oxygen, and use it as a lifeboat. LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS: 'Houston, We've Had a Problem' How the Crew of Apollo 13 Survived Lovell reported to mission control: “Houston, we’ve had a problem here.” The Command Module (CM) was leaking oxygen and rapidly losing fuel cells. 2 had blown up, disabling the regular supply of oxygen, electricity, light and water. At 9:08 p.m.-about 56 hours into the flight-an explosion rocked the spacecraft. Lovell and Haise were set to become the fifth and sixth men to walk on the moon. The next day, Apollo 13 was to enter the moon’s orbit. The crew had just completed a television broadcast and was inspecting Aquarius, the Landing Module (LM). EST on April 13, Apollo 13 was over 200,000 miles from Earth. WATCH: Apollo 13: Modern Marvels on HISTORY Vault "Houston, we've had a problem."Īt 9:00 p.m. Their mission was to reach the Fra Mauro highlands of the moon and explore the Imbrium Basin, conducting geological experiments along the way. On board were astronauts James Lovell, John “Jack” Swigert and Fred Haise. On April 11, 1970, Apollo 13 launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Lovell, Jr., Command Module pilot, John L. The Apollo 13 lunar landing mission prime crew from left to right are: Commander, James A.
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