Apollo 13
Failed 1970 lunar mission whose free-return arc Artemis II replicates.
Last refreshed: 2 April 2026
How does Apollo 13's survival shape Artemis II's flight plan?
Timeline for Apollo 13
Mentioned in: Crew talk; heat shield answer waits
Artemis II Moon MissionMentioned in: Heat shield: clean eye, scan pending
Artemis II Moon MissionMentioned in: Three Orion reworks named in one call
Artemis II Moon MissionMentioned in: NASA's post-mission press conference disclosed no data
Artemis II Moon MissionMentioned in: Orion splashes down in Pacific, crew recovered aboard USS Murtha
Artemis II Moon MissionWhat is the free-return trajectory Apollo 13 used?
How far did Apollo 13 travel from Earth?
Will Artemis II break Apollo 13's distance record?
Background
Artemis II uses the same free-return trajectory concept that saved Apollo 13's crew after an oxygen tank explosion aborted the Moon landing in April 1970. The trajectory commits the spacecraft to a gravity-assisted arc that returns it to Earth without a powered burn if systems fail.
Apollo 13 launched on 11 April 1970 with Commander Jim Lovell, Command Module Pilot Jack Swigert, and Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise. Two days into the mission an oxygen tank exploded, forcing the crew to shelter in the Lunar Module as a lifeboat. They swung around the Moon, reaching a record 248,655 miles (400,171 km) from Earth — the greatest distance any human has travelled from Earth.
Apollo 13's survival validated the free-return trajectory as the primary safety mechanism for lunar missions. Artemis II's trans-lunar injection burn commits to the same type of arc; the mission will break Apollo 13's distance record once Orion passes that mark, closing a 54-year chapter in human spaceflight history.