NASA Celebrates 40th Anniversary of Apollo 13 Skip to main content

NASA Celebrates 40th Anniversary of Apollo 13

The crew of the Apollo 13 return safely to earth, 17 Apr 1970 
(file photo)
Photo: NASA
The crew of the Apollo 13 return safely to earth, 17 Apr 1970 (file photo)


In April 1970, Apollo 13 was scheduled to land on the moon in NASA's bid to further explore the lunar surface.  Instead, an in-flight explosion rocked the spacecraft, preventing astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise from landing on the moon.
Their weeklong ordeal in space captivated the world.  Now, NASA and the Adler Planetarium in Chicago are celebrating what many call the "successful failure."


By April 1970, man had already landed on the moon and the public's interest in the space program began to wane.


The Apollo 13 mission was slated to be the third lunar landing.  But many news organizations initially overlooked it.

"The enthusiasm for lunar flights had diminished greatly," explained Lovell.

When Jim Lovell took command of Apollo 13, with astronauts Fred Haise and Jack Swigert, he was about to realize his dream to land on the moon.

But the dream faded two days into the mission. An explosion crippled the spacecraft soon after the crew wrapped up a lengthy live television broadcast.

"After that explosion, of course everyone was riveted as to what's going to happen," he added.  "Can we get these guys back?"

With the world watching, flight controllers at NASA and the astronauts frantically worked to find a way to get them safely back to Earth.

For five days, through one crisis after another, the Apollo 13 crew and mission specialists on the ground worked through each difficulty.  The astronauts survived by rationing water and food while using the lunar lander as a lifeboat before returning to the command module for re-entry to Earth.

Their efforts ended with splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. All three astronauts survived, and Apollo 13 became known as a "successful failure."

"It was a failure with regards to its initial mission, a success to the triumph of the people that suddenly were thrust upon a problem that they never anticipated, they never planned for, they never trained for, and were able to pull off successfully a successful recovery," said Lovell.

The ordeal was the basis of the 1995 movie Apollo 13. Tom Hanks starred as Jim Lovell.

Lovell never returned to space or landed on the moon, yet the movie made him a household name.

"I think it regenerated a whole new generation of young Americans about the space program," he said.

For the 40th anniversary of Apollo 13, events are planned at the Adler Planetarium near Lovell's home in Chicago, and at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.  Lovell will join fellow astronaut Fred Haise to mark the occasion.  Jack Swigert died in 1982.

"I look at the 40th anniversary of Apollo 13 as the last anniversary of Apollo 13.  The last anniversary probably of Apollo flights.  I think we have to go forward now," Lovell noted.

But NASA's Space Shuttle program is scheduled to end in September, a move Lovell opposes because he says the United States will not be able to support the International Space Station.

Lovell says NASA currently lacks goals for the space program.  He favors a project to send people to Mars, but he also wants to see American astronauts return to the one place he never reached, the surface of the moon.

VOA NEWS

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera

The Life Story of A Distinguished And Outstanding Bhikkhu The Most Venerable Saradawpharagree Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera The Buddhist missionary Saradaw Ashin U Chandramani was endowed with great gifts and led a famous and long life. He was a very well known, distinguished and outstanding Bhikkhu Mahathera. While living in the Kushinagar Monastery, a place close to where the Lord Buddha had passed away to Nirvana, the Government of India had offered, and he had accepted, the highest, most honourable and respected title "Guru Guru MahaGuru". He became the first ever President of all Buddhists in India.A World Buddhist Conference took place in Kathmandu during the reign of King Mahindra of Nepal. The Conference was very well attended by over one hundred thousand Buddhists from various parts of the world and it was opened by King Mahindra himself. As requested by the King, Saradawpharagree blessed all the participants with the power of Triple Gems...

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do...

Three Dead, Seven Injured by Artillery Shells in Two Incidents in Myanmar’s Mrauk-U

By MIN AUNG KHINE 2 December 2019 Sittwe, Rakhine State –Three Mrauk-U township residents died and four others were injured when an artillery shell struck their community in the Ale Zay quarter of Mrauk-U town on Monday afternoon after 4 p.m. A month-old girl, a 4-year-old boy and a 30-year-old woman died, according to Dr. Khin Maung Yin, the head of Mrauk-U hospital. He said, “A man and three other women were injured. One of the women sustained severe injures to her left leg and her right knee was dislocated. The injured will be operated on.” Details of what occurred were not yet known. A few hours earlier, three civilians were injured when an artillery shell fell on the village of Na Leik in Mrauk-U Township, Rakhine State, western Myanmar, on Monday at around 1 p.m., according to Yan Aung Pyin village-tract administrator U Sein Hla Aung. Two females, aged 13 and 27, and an 18-year-old male were injured in the incident, he said. Three people were hit by shrapnel and we have...