Imagining Apollo 13 on the Lunar Surface

Apollo 13 launched on April 11, 1970, on a journey to become the third crew to land on the Moon. The crew never made it. The mission became known as “a successful failure” that saw the safe return of its crew in spite of a catastrophic explosion.

This artist’s concept—by Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical, San Diego, California—shows two Apollo 13 astronauts exploring the surface of the Moon. In the center background is the Apollo 13 Lunar Module in the rugged highlands just north of Fra Mauro.

Fifty years later, NASA is sharing a variety of resources, recognizing the triumph of the mission control team and the astronauts and looking at how those lessons can be applied to the Artemis program.

Image Credit: NASA