Apollo 13 failed to land on the Moon, its central mission objective. But after an oxygen-tank failure put the crew’s spacecraft and life support at risk, the astronauts and Mission Control worked together to bring all three men safely back to Earth. NASA’s description of the flight as a “successful failure” captures those two different outcomes.
What Apollo 13 was meant to do
Apollo 13 launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, as a planned lunar landing mission to the Fra Mauro region. The crew was commander James Lovell, command module pilot John “Jack” Swigert, and lunar module pilot Fred Haise. It was intended to be the third Apollo mission to land astronauts on the Moon. NASA’s mission history records the original objective and crew.
What went wrong on Apollo 13
On April 13, while the spacecraft was travelling toward the Moon, oxygen tank No. 2 failed. NASA’s account of the accident review traces the failure to wiring and heater damage associated with a voltage change and prolonged overheating. The incident also compromised the other oxygen tank and the command module’s normal power supply. The problem was not simply a dramatic bang: it threatened oxygen, electrical power, water, and the systems needed to keep the crew alive.
Swigert reported the emergency to Mission Control with the words, “Houston, we’ve had a problem here.” With the spacecraft’s condition uncertain and the resources for a landing no longer available, NASA and the crew abandoned the attempt to reach Fra Mauro. NASA’s mission details recount the failure and Swigert’s report.
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How the crew got back to Earth
The crew shut down the command module to conserve its remaining power and moved into Aquarius, the lunar module. Designed to carry astronauts to the lunar surface and back to the command module, Aquarius instead became a temporary lifeboat for the journey home. Mission Control and the astronauts had to manage navigation, power, and life support under emergency conditions.
Making the carbon-dioxide scrubbers work
One urgent problem was fitting the command module’s square carbon-dioxide scrubber canisters into the lunar module’s round openings. Mission Control and the crew devised a way to adapt the mismatched parts, using available materials to make the command module canisters function in Aquarius. This was one of several practical fixes required to keep the crew alive; the return depended on sustained coordination and problem-solving, not one lucky manoeuvre. NASA’s mission history describes the emergency response.
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Returning in the command module
As the spacecraft neared Earth, the crew returned to the command module, which had been powered down during the crisis. Aquarius was jettisoned before re-entry, and the command module brought the astronauts through the atmosphere to a Pacific Ocean splashdown on April 17, 1970. NASA gives the mission duration as 5 days, 22 hours, and 54 minutes. NASA’s 50th-anniversary account records the safe return and flight duration.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why Apollo 13 is called a “successful failure”
The phrase makes sense only when the two outcomes are kept separate:
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- The landing objective failed: Apollo 13 did not land at Fra Mauro or carry out its planned lunar exploration.
- The rescue succeeded: Lovell, Swigert, and Haise survived the emergency and returned safely to Earth after the crew and Mission Control adapted the spacecraft and its procedures to the crisis.
The mission’s experience also informed safety work and later Apollo missions. NASA’s retrospective describes Apollo 13 as a failure of the planned landing but a success in saving the crew and learning from the emergency. NASA’s Apollo 13 history and its 50th-anniversary account document both sides of the outcome.
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