“

C

hris, you better get out here

quick; I think we’ve had it!”

It was the evening of Monday

13 April 1970 and Flight

Director Gene Kranz was on

the phone to his predecessor

Chris Kraft who had been

promoted to director of Flight

Operations. What was hap-

pening with the Apollo 13’s Odyssey com-

mand module was unclear. While the

Apollo 13 crew – Commander Jim Lovell,

Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise and Com-

mand Module Pilot Jack Swigert – relayed

readings and warning light indications in

eerily restrained level tones, the atmosphere

at Houston’s Manned Spacecraft Center’s

Mission Control was one of incredulity. The

systems receiving data from the moon-bound

spacecraft were reporting a bewildering

cascade of problems with no observable

pattern to unite them.

A little over 10 minutes earlier, Sy Lieber-

got, a controller at the Electrical, Environ-

mental, and Consumables Management

(EECOM) desk, had made the routine request

that the crew “stir up” the Odyssey’s ox ygen

tanks. Stored in a cold ‘cryogenic’ state,

oxygen and hydrogen flowed into three fuel

cells where they were catalysed by electrodes

to produce the lifeblood of the Apollo

spacecraft: water, oxygen and electricity.

Stirring the tanks was supposed to ensure

an accurate reading of how much of the

strange substance (not quite liquid, not quite

gas) remained. This time, however, failed

switches inside the tank created a short

circuit, igniting the Teflon insulation. The

spacecraft shook and shuddered. Exchanging

frightened glances with his crew, Lovell

noticed that one of the craft’s two main power

distribution panels was offline. “Hey, we’ve

got a problem here!” shouted Swigert. Jack

Lousma, the astronaut serving as CapCom

(the sole official charged with communicat-

ing with the crew) asked the astronauts to

repeat, prompting Lovell’s iconic phrase:

“Houston, we’ve had a problem.”

The rookie astronaut

Apollo 13’s crew found themselves assigned

to the mission through the vagaries of Nasa’s

crew selection process, a complex system

predicated on merit, horse-trading and

chance. James A Lovell Jr was a former naval

aviator and veteran spacefarer who had flown

into space on three previous missions,

including the trailblazing Apollo 8 mission

that had circumnavigated the moon in

December 1968. Fred W Haise Jr was a rookie

astronaut and former fighter pilot who had

been selected for Nasa’s fifth class of astro-

nauts in 1966. Lovell and Haise had both

been part of the backup crew for Apollo 13

but were promoted to the prime crew after

the original commander, Alan Shepard (the

first American in space), was grounded to

recover from an ear operation. The back-up’s

back-up, Jack Swigert, was assigned to the

crew after astronaut Ken Mattingly had been

exposed to rubella. As the astronaut corps’

sole bachelor, the media was fascinated by

Swigert, dubbing him a “swinger” with a “girl

in every airport”.

Apollo 13’s mission profile reflected the

ambitions of a space agency with two crewed

lunar landings under its belt. July 1969’s

Apollo 11 and November 1969’s Apollo 12

had both landed on lunar maria, dark patches

on the near side of the moon named by

ancient astronomers for their resemblance to

earthly seas. These vast and dusty volcanic

plains provided comparatively easy landing

sites but from a geologist’s perspective they

could not compare to the mysteries of the

Lunar Highlands. Apollo 13’s landing

site was near the mountain-like rim

of the Fra Mauro crater. Named

after a 15th-century Venetian

cartographer, Fra Mauro’s

topography presented a

challenging landing as

reflected sunlight would

dissolve the shadows of its

boulders and hills.

For all their speechmaking

and flag planting, the Apollo

astronauts had work to do. In the

cumulative three and a half days that

they spent on the moon’s surface outside of

their lunar modules, the crews of the entire

Apollo programme collected and returned

382 kilograms of lunar rock and soil, ob-

tained more than 6,000 images of the lunar

surface and deployed 2,100 kilograms of

scientific equipment. Apollo 13’s mission was

to investigate whether material scattered by

the impact that had formed the crater might

shed light on the early geological history of

the Earth and the moon. Haise and Lovell

would drill 10 feet into the lunar surface as

well as deploying equipment to measure

lunar seismic activity, solar-wind particles

and a Lunar Atmosphere Detector.

This busy schedule was, of course, contin-

gent on the astronauts making it to the moon

in the first place. Keeping three fragile

human bodies alive in the pitiless void of

outer space was an absurdly complicated

task. Setting the wrong course at critical

junctures during the mission might see the

craft slam into the Earth or the moon or,

grimmer still, stranded in orbit indefinitely.

Cabin pressure had to be maintained, along

with a supply of oxygen. If the craft depres-

surised then the crew faced the unimaginable

The race to save Apollo 13

Up, up and away

ABOVE: Apollo 13 heads for the

moon atop a Saturn V rocket

on 11 April 1970

LEFT: The mission emblem

• featuring the motto,
  translated as “From the
  Moon, Knowledge” – worn
  by the astronauts on their
  spacesuits
  GETTY IMAGES/NASA

“

C

hris, you better get out here
quick; I think we’ve had it!”
It was the evening of Monday
13 April 1970 and Flight
Director Gene Kranz was on
the phone to his predecessor
Chris Kraft who had been
promoted to director of Flight
Operations. What was hap-
pening with the Apollo 13’s Odyssey com-
mand module was unclear. While the
Apollo 13 crew – Commander Jim Lovell,
Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise and Com-
mand Module Pilot Jack Swigert – relayed
readings and warning light indications in
eerily restrained level tones, the atmosphere
at Houston’s Manned Spacecraft Center’s
Mission Control was one of incredulity. The
systems receiving data from the moon-bound
spacecraft were reporting a bewildering
cascade of problems with no observable
pattern to unite them.
A little over 10 minutes earlier, Sy Lieber-
got, a controller at the Electrical, Environ-
mental, and Consumables Management
(EECOM) desk, had made the routine request
that the crew “stir up” the Odyssey’s ox ygen
tanks. Stored in a cold ‘cryogenic’ state,
oxygen and hydrogen flowed into three fuel
cells where they were catalysed by electrodes
to produce the lifeblood of the Apollo
spacecraft: water, oxygen and electricity.
Stirring the tanks was supposed to ensure
an accurate reading of how much of the
strange substance (not quite liquid, not quite
gas) remained. This time, however, failed
switches inside the tank created a short
circuit, igniting the Teflon insulation. The
spacecraft shook and shuddered. Exchanging
frightened glances with his crew, Lovell
noticed that one of the craft’s two main power
distribution panels was offline. “Hey, we’ve
got a problem here!” shouted Swigert. Jack
Lousma, the astronaut serving as CapCom
(the sole official charged with communicat-
ing with the crew) asked the astronauts to
repeat, prompting Lovell’s iconic phrase:
“Houston, we’ve had a problem.”

The rookie astronaut
Apollo 13’s crew found themselves assigned
to the mission through the vagaries of Nasa’s
crew selection process, a complex system
predicated on merit, horse-trading and
chance. James A Lovell Jr was a former naval
aviator and veteran spacefarer who had flown
into space on three previous missions,
including the trailblazing Apollo 8 mission
that had circumnavigated the moon in
December 1968. Fred W Haise Jr was a rookie
astronaut and former fighter pilot who had
been selected for Nasa’s fifth class of astro-
nauts in 1966. Lovell and Haise had both

been part of the backup crew for Apollo 13

but were promoted to the prime crew after

the original commander, Alan Shepard (the

first American in space), was grounded to

recover from an ear operation. The back-up’s

back-up, Jack Swigert, was assigned to the

crew after astronaut Ken Mattingly had been

exposed to rubella. As the astronaut corps’

sole bachelor, the media was fascinated by

Swigert, dubbing him a “swinger” with a “girl

in every airport”.

Apollo 13’s mission profile reflected the

ambitions of a space agency with two crewed

lunar landings under its belt. July 1969’s

Apollo 11 and November 1969’s Apollo 12

had both landed on lunar maria, dark patches

on the near side of the moon named by

ancient astronomers for their resemblance to

earthly seas. These vast and dusty volcanic

plains provided comparatively easy landing

sites but from a geologist’s perspective they

could not compare to the mysteries of the

Lunar Highlands. Apollo 13’slanding

site was near the mountain-likerim

of the Fra Mauro crater. Named

after a 15th-century Venetian

cartographer, Fra Mauro’s

topography presented a

challenging landing as

reflected sunlight would

dissolve the shadows of its

boulders and hills.

For all their speechmaking

and flag planting, the Apollo

astronauts had work to do. Inthe

cumulative three and a half daysthat

they spent on the moon’s surfaceoutsideof

their lunar modules, the crews of the entire

Apollo programme collected and returned

382 kilograms of lunar rock and soil, ob-

tained more than 6,000 images of the lunar

surface and deployed 2,100 kilograms of

scientific equipment. Apollo 13’s mission was

to investigate whether material scattered by

the impact that had formed the crater might

shed light on the early geological history of

the Earth and the moon. Haise and Lovell

would drill 10 feet into the lunar surface as

well as deploying equipment to measure

lunar seismic activity, solar-wind particles

and a Lunar Atmosphere Detector.

This busy schedule was, of course, contin-

gent on the astronauts making it to the moon

in the first place. Keeping three fragile

human bodies alive in the pitiless void of

outer space was an absurdly complicated

task. Setting the wrong course at critical

junctures during the mission might see the

craft slam into the Earth or the moon or,

grimmer still, stranded in orbit indefinitely.

Cabin pressure had to be maintained, along

with a supply of oxygen. If the craft depres-

surised then the crew faced the unimaginable

The race to save Apollo 13

Up, up and away

ABOVE: Apollo 13 heads for the

moon atop a Saturn V rocket

on 11 April 1970

LEFT: The mission emblem

• featuring the motto,
  translated as “From the
  Moon, Knowledge” – worn
  by the astronauts on their
  spacesuits
  GETTY IMAGES/NASA