Main content

Nasa’s third mission to land astronauts on the Moon almost ends in tragedy. The spacecraft is crippled by an explosion and the lives of the crew hang in the balance.

Nasa’s third mission to land astronauts on the Moon almost ends in tragedy. Apollo 13 is doomed from the start - it will never touch down on the lunar surface. Even before launch, a last-minute crew change and superstitions about the number 13 cast a shadow over the spaceflight. When an explosion triggers a catastrophic cascade of events, the space crew’s lives hang in the balance.

Hosted by Kevin Fong.

Archive:
Nasa and CBS
Johnson Space Center Oral History Project

Starring:
Jim Lovell
Marilyn Lovell
Fred Haise
John Aaron
Gerry Griffin
Gene Kranz, courtesy of the Johnson Space Center Oral History Project
Charlie Duke
Jay Lovell
Sy Liebergot
Jack Lousma

Written by Kevin Fong and Andrew Luck-Baker

Theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg for Bleeding Fingers Music.

Produced by the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio Science Unit for the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World Service.
This episode was updated on 16 March 2020.

Available now

44 minutes

Last on

Sun 15 Mar 2020 18:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Wed 11 Mar 2020 11:32GMT
  • Wed 11 Mar 2020 18:32GMT
  • Wed 11 Mar 2020 21:32GMT
  • Wed 11 Mar 2020 23:32GMT
  • Thu 12 Mar 2020 02:32GMT
  • Thu 12 Mar 2020 03:32GMT
  • Sun 15 Mar 2020 18:32GMT

Featured in...

Season 3: The Space Shuttle

Season 3: The Space Shuttle

The space shuttle: A sci-fi dream that became reality and changed spaceflight forever

Season 2: The Apollo 13 story

Season 2: The Apollo 13 story

Jump on-board a doomed mission to the Moon. Apollo 13: the extraordinary story

Season 1: The Apollo 11 story

Season 1: The Apollo 11 story

How the first moon landing was saved. The story of the people who made Apollo 11 happen

Podcast