Where is apollo 13 command module

Swigert Jr. Manufacturer North American Rockwell. Country of Origin United States of America. Materials Aluminum alloy, stainless steel, and titanium structures. Epoxy-resin ablative heat shield covers outside. Dimensions Overall: 10 ft. Thank you. You have successfully signed up for our newsletter. Error message Sorry, there was a problem. Please ensure your details are valid and try again.

The Apollo spacecraft was made up of two independent spacecraft joined by a tunnel: orbiter Odyssey, and lander Aquarius. The crew lived in Odyssey on the journey to the moon.

On the evening of April 13, when the crew was nearly , kilometers , miles from Earth and closing in on the moon, mission controller Sy Liebergot saw a low-pressure warning signal on a hydrogen tank in Odyssey. The signal could have shown a problem, or could have indicated the hydrogen just needed to be resettled by heating and fanning the gas inside the tank.

That procedure was called a "cryo stir", and was supposed to stop the supercold gas from settling into layers. Related: This stunning 4K video re-creates Apollo 13's perilous trip around the moon.

Swigert flipped the switch for the routine procedure. A moment later, the entire spacecraft shook. Alarm lights lit up in Odyssey and in Mission Control as oxygen pressure fell and power disappeared. The crew notified Mission Control, with Swigert famously saying, "Houston, we've had a problem. Much later, a NASA accident investigation board determined wires were exposed in the oxygen tank because of a combination of manufacturing and testing errors before flight.

That fateful night, a spark from an exposed wire in the oxygen tank caused a fire, ripping apart one oxygen tank and damaging another inside the spacecraft. Since oxygen fed Odyssey's fuel cells, power was reduced as well. The spacecraft's attitude control thrusters, sensing the venting oxygen, tried to stabilize the spacecraft through firing small jets.

The system wasn't very successful given several of the jets were slammed shut by the explosion. Fortunately for Apollo 13, the damaged Odyssey had a healthy backup: Aquarius, which wasn't supposed to be turned on until the crew was close to landing on the moon. Haise and Lovell frantically worked to boot Aquarius up in less time than designed.

Aquarius didn't have a heat shield to survive the drop back to Earth, so as Lovell and Haise got the lunar module up and running, Swigert remained in Odyssey to shut down its systems to conserve power for splashdown. The crew had to balance the challenge of getting home with the challenge of preserving power on Aquarius.

After they performed a crucial burn to point the spacecraft back towards Earth, the crew powered down every nonessential system in the spacecraft. The Apollo 15 mission was the first to use a Lunar Roving Vehicle, aka a Moon Buggy, and the astronauts spent significantly longer on the moon than previous missions had. There are several other aircraft, spacecraft, and satellites on display too. The Apollo 16 mission lifted off in April and lasted over 11 days during which the crew spent over five days orbiting the moon.

Astronauts John Young also Apollo 10 and Charles Duke spent nearly three days exploring the lunar surface, again aided by a Moon Buggy. Today, the Apollo 16 Command Module is permanently on display at the U. The U. The final moon mission, Apollo 17, took place in December In their mission, astronauts Gene Cernan also Apollo 10 , Harrison Schmitt, and Ronald Evans orbited the moon for six days, spent over three days on the lunar surface, and clocked over 22 hours of EVAs. Have questions about visiting these Apollo Command Modules?

Let us know in the comments! Valerie is the founder and editor of Space Tourism Guide. She decided to start the site after realizing how many friends and family had never seen the Milky Way, and that space tourism was going to unlock the next great travel destination: space!

Thanks for reading, Ray. The crash sites of most are known — but no-one is quite sure where the ascent stages of Apollo 11 s module Eagle or Apollo 16 s module Orion ended up. Your email address will not be published. Table of Contents. Valerie Stimac. Ray Holt September 4, at pm Reply. Valerie Stimac September 27, at pm Reply.