Apollo 13 is famously known for the phrase "Houston, we've had a problem," uttered by astronaut Jack Swigert. The mission, originally intended to land on the Moon, turned into a dramatic struggle to safely return the crew to Earth after a critical in-flight failure. Apollo 13 was launched from Kennedy Space Center on a Saturn V rocket without incident, and the mission proceeded normally initially. On April 13, 1970, approximately 56 hours into the mission, an oxygen tank in the Service Module exploded. The explosion severely damaged the Service Module, causing a loss of electrical power and failure of both oxygen tanks. The Command Module "Odyssey" was critically affected, and the lunar landing had to be aborted.

After looping around the Moon, the crew transferred back to the Command Module, jettisoned the damaged Service Module, and then jettisoned the Lunar Module. They performed a successful re-entry and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on April 17, 1970. The crew was safely recovered by the USS Iwo Jima.