Fifty-five hours into the Apollo 13 mission, an oxygen tank explodes 200,000 miles from Earth, crippling the spacecraft and forcing the crew to use the lunar module as a lifeboat with dwindling power, water, and breathable air. Through four days of intense improvisation by the astronauts and ground controllers—including a makeshift carbon dioxide filter built from plastic bags and tape—all three crew members return safely to Earth in what NASA calls a "successful failure."
Word Count
1,647
Reading Time
9 min
Difficulty
intermediate
Genre
History
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