A view of Apollo 13 Saturn V at sunset on the day before launch. The Apollo 13 mission launched on April 11, 1970, and 2020 marks its 50th anniversary. The Apollo 13 mission ended on April 17, 1970, with all crew members safely aboard the USS Iwo Jima recovery ship.
Also see:
NASA’s unsung heroes: The Apollo coders who put men on the moon (TechRepublic PDF)
A look into Chabot Observatory’s critical role in bringing the Apollo 13 spacecraft home 50 years ago (TechRepublic)
How a NASA team of black women ‘computers’ sent an astronaut into orbit in 1962 (TechRepublic)
Photos: The computer programmers behind NASA’s Apollo missions (TechRepublic)
Earth Day turns 50: NASA throws an online celebration (TechRepublic)
Apollo 13: Misconceptions and myths endure (TechRepublic)
The original Apollo 13 astronauts, before Ken Mattingly was replaced by Jack Swigert. Jim Lovell (left), Ken Mattingly and Fred Haise.
Apollo 13 Saturn V during early-morning rollout on December 16, 1969.
Saturn V on the pad at dusk.
Ken Mattingly at the launch pad during training.
Apollo 13 CSM in Assembly and Test.
Apollo 13 Training MESA. View of the TV camera from the ladder side.
Jim Lovell (left), Ken Mattingly and Fred Haise climb into a command module during training.
Jack Swigert prepares to enter the spacecraft during training in September 1969.
View of the lunar landing training vehicle.
Apollo 13 water egress training in the Gulf of Mexico in February 1970.
Jim Lovell
On March 25,1970, Jim Lovell celebrated his 42nd birthday before the Apollo 13 mission.
Fred Haise carries mock-ups of the ALSEP packages while in a harness attached to the arm of a large centrifuge. The harness is designed to reduce his apparent weight to one-sixth normal, giving a simulation of lunar conditions. Photo taken on January 19, 1970.
Fred Haise (left) and Jim Lovell during geology training.
Fred Haise in the centrifuge harness.
Fred Haise (left) Jim Lovell, and Ken Mattingly pose in front of the launch pad on April 6, 1970, the week before launch.
Fred Haise (left), Jim Lovell, and Ken Mattingly board the transfer van after the successful completion of the Countdown Demonstration Test on March 26, 1970.
Fred Haise (left), Jack Swigert and Jim Lovell pose on the day before launch. Swigert had just replaced Ken Mattingly as CMP after Mattingly was exposed to German Measles. Photo taken on April 10, 1970.
Jim Lovell (left), Jack Swigert and Fred Haise pose on the day before launch on April 10, 1970.
NASA captioned this one: Astronaut secretary Martha Caballero wishing Apollo 13 commander James A. Lovell, Jr. good luck. The photo was taken on April 11, 1970.
To the transfer van on launch day.
The Apollo 13 crew members make their way to the transfer van on launch day.
Crew members of the Apollo 13 mission.
April 11, 1970
April 11, 1970
How the moon looked to the astronauts aboard the Lunar Module.
View of Earth from Apollo 13.
A group of eight astronauts and flight controllers monitor the console activity in the Mission Operations Control Room (MOCR) of the Mission Control Center (MCC) during the Apollo 13 lunar landing mission. When this picture was made on April 13, 1970, the Apollo 13 moon landing had already been cancelled, and the Apollo 13 crewmen were in transearth trajectory attempting to bring their crippled spacecraft back home.
Deke Slayton (in the checked jacket) shows the adapter devised to make use of square Command Module lithium hydroxide canisters to remove excess carbon dioxide from the Apollo 13 LM cabin. Taken on April 15, 1970.
Inflight photo of the device constructed by the crew from duct tape, maps and other materials they had on hand as per instructions provided by Houston.
Interior view of the Apollo 13 Lunar Module during the journey back to Earth.
View of the severely damaged Service Module after separation.
View of the top of Apollo 13 Lunar Module Aquarius after separation.
Mission Control in Houston celebrates the safe return of the Apollo 13 crew. Gene Kranz is smoking a celebratory cigar at the right while Deke Slayton, in front of the mission patch, shakes hands.
Apollo 13 splashdown.
Apollo 13 recovery operations.
Jim Lovell (center) gestures in the recovery raft while a Navy diver positions the lift cage. Fred Haise is on the left side of the raft with Jack Swigert partly hidden beyond him.
Rear Admiral Donald C. Davis (USN), Recovery Task Force Commander, welcomes Fred Haise (left), Jack Swigert, and Jim Lovell aboard the US Iwo Jima after their safe return on April 17, 1970.
Fred Haise (left), Jim Lovell, and Jack Swigert emerge from the recovery helicopter on-board the aircraft carrier Iwo Jima on April 17, 1970.
On the Iwo Jima, after landing, Jim Lovell reads a newspaper account of the Apollo 13 recovery on April 17, 1970.
After landing, Jack Swigert (left) and Jim Lovell examine the Command Module aboard the Iwo Jima on April 17, 1970.
Navy divers pose with the Command Module before it is hoisted aboard the Iwo Jima.
The Apollo 13 Command Module after being hosted aboard the Iwo Jima on April 17, 1970.
Fred Haise (left), Jim Lovell, President Richard Nixon, and Jack Swigert at Hickham Air Force Base, Hawaii on April 18, 1970.
Apollo 13 Insignia patch artwork.
Also see:
NASA’s unsung heroes: The Apollo coders who put men on the moon (TechRepublic PDF)
A look into Chabot Observatory’s critical role in bringing the Apollo 13 spacecraft home 50 years ago (TechRepublic)
How a NASA team of black women ‘computers’ sent an astronaut into orbit in 1962 (TechRepublic)
Photos: The computer programmers behind NASA’s Apollo missions (TechRepublic)
Earth Day turns 50: NASA throws an online celebration (TechRepublic)
Apollo 13: Misconceptions and myths endure (TechRepublic)
Teena Maddox is a VP at Brodeur Partners. She is a former Associate Managing Editor at TechRepublic. Teena's lifelong journalism career has included writing on staff for publications including People magazine, W magazine and Women's Wear Daily.
