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PROGRAM · National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Apollo 13

Official insignia (mission patch) of Apollo 13: "Ex Luna, Scientia" (From the Moon, Knowledge).
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Apollo 13, launched in April 1970, was NASA's third crewed Moon-landing attempt. An oxygen tank explosion crippled the spacecraft en route to the Moon, and the crew survived by turning the lunar module into a lifeboat for the journey back to Earth.

Datum11 April 1970 – 17 April 1970
AgenturaNational Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
TělesoThe Moon
SEE ALSO →Apollo 13
The damaged Apollo 13 service module photographed after separation, showing the panel blown off by the oxygen tank explosion (NASA AS13-59-8500).◉ REÁLNÉ FOTO · NASA (via Wikimedia Commons)
Fig. 1 — The damaged Apollo 13 service module photographed after separation, showing the panel blown off by the oxygen tank explosion (NASA AS13-59-8500).

Contents

living encyclopedia entry
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sections
15
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updated · 13 Jul 2026#Měsíc#NASA#Apollo

Apollo 13 was NASA's third planned crewed Moon landing, aiming for the Fra Mauro highlands. Fifty-six hours into the flight an oxygen tank exploded, crippling the spacecraft and forcing Mission Control to abort the landing.

The crew survived by turning the lunar module Aquarius into a lifeboat, looping around the Moon on a free-return trajectory and improvising fixes to their life-support systems. All three astronauts returned safely, and the mission was later called a "successful failure" for what it taught NASA about crew survival.

CREW
Oficiální portrét astronauta Jim Lovell (NASA).
Jim Lovell
Commander
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Oficiální portrét astronauta Jack Swigert (NASA).
Jack Swigert
Command Module Pilot
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Oficiální portrét astronauta Fred Haise (NASA).
Fred Haise
Lunar Module Pilot
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MISSION TIMELINE
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kompletní průvodce misí den po dni
1
Launch

Apollo 13 launched on 11 April 1970 aboard a Saturn V rocket, carrying commander Jim Lovell, command module pilot Jack Swigert,…

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2
Oxygen Tank Explosion

Roughly 56 hours into the flight, an oxygen tank in the service module exploded after a routine stir, damaging a second tank and…

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3
The Lunar Module as a Lifeboat

With the command module's systems shut down to conserve power, the crew moved into the lunar module Aquarius, using it as a…

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4
Lunar Flyby

Unable to land, Apollo 13 swung around the far side of the Moon on a free-return trajectory, using the lunar module's descent…

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5
Splashdown

All three astronauts splashed down safely in the South Pacific Ocean on 17 April 1970, nearly six days after launch, and were…

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MISSION BY THE NUMBERS

Mission duration5 dní, 22 hodin, 54 minut
Farthest point from Earth (record)~ 400 171 km
LM cabin temperature during the crisisklesla až na ~ 4 °C
Crew size3
NOTABLE FACTS
  • The No. 2 oxygen tank exploded on 13 April 1970, about 56 hours after launch.
  • The lunar module Aquarius served as a "lifeboat" for the return trip, though it was designed for only two people for two days.
  • The famous movie line "Houston, we have a problem" is a slight rewrite — Swigert actually said "Houston, we've had a problem here."

MISSION HARDWARE

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Start rakety Saturn V (NASA).◉ REÁLNÉ FOTO
Saturn VTémaotevřít heslo →
Buzz Aldrin, odraz Armstronga a lunárního modulu v hledí (AS11-40-5903).◉ REÁLNÉ FOTO
A7L SpacesuitTémaotevřít heslo →
Rollout rakety Saturn V z montážní budovy VAB na startovací rampu (NASA).◉ REÁLNÉ FOTO
ApolloProgramotevřít heslo →
Buzz Aldrin stojí u vlajky USA na povrchu Měsíce, Apollo 11 (NASA AS11-40-5875).◉ REÁLNÉ FOTO
Apollo Program / Apollo 11Programotevřít heslo →
OČITÉ SVĚDECTVÍ„

Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here.

— Jack Swigertcommand module pilot, Apollo 13

Course of the crisis

11 April 1970
Launch

Launch from Launch Complex 39A.

GALERIE

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RELATED ARTICLES

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Start rakety SLS s lodí Orion při misi Artemis I (NASA).◉ REÁLNÉ FOTO
Artemis IMiseotevřít heslo →

ARTICLE ON THE TIMELINE

FULL TIMELINE →
13 April 1970
Apollo 13 oxygen tank explosion

An oxygen tank explosion en route to the Moon forced the landing to be aborted; the crew used the lunar module as a lifeboat and returned safely to Earth.

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SOURCES & FURTHER READINGlast verified · 4 July 2026
[1]NASA: Apollo 13 Mission Report, MSC-02680, 1970 - primary source for mission data.
[2]Apollo Flight Journal - transcripts of air-to-ground communication and flight chronology.
[3]NASA Image and Video Library (images.nasa.gov) - photographs and footage, public domain.
[4]Wikipedia: Apollo 13 - initial article structure, CC-BY-SA 4.0.
[5]Lovell, J. & Kluger, J.: Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, 1994 - the commander's own account, basis of the 1995 film.
[6]NASA NSSDCA Master Catalog - technical parameters of the Saturn V and spacecraft.
◉ NASA photography — public domain✦ AI illustration — marked, generated from sourcesarticle text — CC-BY-SA
RELATED ARTICLES
Apollo 8
Apollo 17
Apollo 10
Apollo 12
Apollo 14
Apollo 15
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Picture index

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