This view of the Apollo 13 Lunar Module (LM) was
photographed from the Command Module (CM) just after the
LM separation. The separation occurred a few minutes before
11 a.m. CST, April 17, 1970, just over an hour prior to
splashdown of the CM in the south Paciic Ocean. (NASA)
How a quick call to a Canadian
helped bring Apollo 13 astronauts
home after a space explosionBy Chris GainorOne small switch flip turned
a �normalˮ moon landing
mission into a crisis.April 13, 1970. Fifty-six hours after launch.
he three astronauts of Apollo 13 suddenly found
themselves grappling with an explosion in space.Despite the circumstances, the crew were lucky.
Odyssey, the command and service module, was
damaged when the main oxygen tanks blew. But
the lunar module Aquarius — originally designed
to land on the moon’s surface — was intact,
despite being docked to Odyssey.he crew had the equipment. But they needed
the knowhow.hat came from the ground, in an efort that
spanned nearly four days, 340,000 kilometres
and many nations — including Canada.Flight controllers and other experts worked
around the clock to save the crew, a feat immortal-
ized in the 1995 Hollywood feature ilm Apollo 13.One of the last mission problems was solved
with a phone call to academics at the University
of Toronto Institute of Aerospace Studies in
Downsview, Ont. →
SKYNEWS • MAR/APR 2020