Forty-three years ago today, the Apollo 13 spacecraft splashed down into the Pacific Ocean following one of the most remarkable recovery missions in space history.
Inside was mission commander Jim Lovell, 42, lunar module pilot Fred Haise, 36, and commander module pilot Jack Swigert, 38.
Apollo 13, which blasted into space on April 11, 1970, was supposed to land on the moon. But an explosion in one part of the spacecraft less than three days after launch forced NASA to abort the mission.
The mission is still considered a "successful failure" because the three astronauts returned to Earth safely.
Around 47 hours into the mission, everything seemed to be running smoothly. "The spacecraft is in real good shape as far as we are concerned. We're bored to tears down here," Capsule communicator Joe Kerwin says.
Just 9 hours later, the crew finished a television broadcast showing how comfortable it is to live on the spacecraft in zero gravity. Lovell closed with a warm good night: This is the crew of Apollo 13 wishing everybody there a nice evening, and we're just about ready to close out our inspection of Aquarius and get back for a pleasant evening in Odyssey. Good night."
A few minutes after the broadcast wraped, ground control asked Swigert to perform a routine procedure called a cryo-stir. This involved powering fans to stir two oxygen tanks in the service module, which prevented the liquid oxygen from settling into layers.
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