Because of the corona virus pandemic, there will be no public commemorations to mark the 50th anniversary of the rescue of the “Apollo 13” astronauts, according to the US Space Agency (NASA). Instead, numerous historical videos, photos and audio recordings have been compiled on the Internet, NASA said.
The “Apollo 13” was launched on April 11, 1970 on board a “Saturn V” rocket from the Cape Canaveral spaceport in Florida. It was designed to take NASA astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert to the moon. However, about 56 hours after the launch, there was an explosion in an oxygen tank in the space capsule. The three astronauts were brought back unharmed with a complicated rescue operation that later provided material for a successful Hollywood film.
“50 years ago, our goal was to save our brave crew after we sent them around the moon and to safely bring them back to Earth,” said NASA chief Jim Bridenstine. “Now our goal is to return to the moon to stay there in a sustainable way. We are working hard to ensure that we do not have to react to such an emergency again, but we are prepared for any problems that we cannot predict. ”
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