LM-7 “Aquarius” (Apollo 13)

The Apollo 13 Lunar Module (LM or LEM) was originally supposed to land at the Fra Mauro region of the Moon. The Apollo 13 mission was aborted as a lunar landing mission on 13 April 1970, 2 days after launch, when an oxygen tank on the Command and Service Module (CSM) overheated and exploded. The LM, designed to support two astronauts for 45 hours, was used as a lifeboat to house the three astronauts (Commander James A. Lovell Jr., CSM pilot John L. Swigert Jr., and LM pilot Fred W. Haise Jr.) for 90 hours, as the CSM could not provide life support. Energy and water consumption were cut drastically for the duration of the trip, and the CM lithium hydroxide cannisters, used to scrub carbon dioxide out of the air, were adapted for use on the LM. The Apollo 13 continued on to the Moon, and the LM descent engine was used to accelerate the spacecraft around the Moon and back to Earth. The LM was jettisoned shortly before reaching Earth, the astronauts returning to the Command Module for the reentry. The LM re-entered and burned in the Earth’s atmosphere over the southwest Pacific, any surviving pieces impacted in the deep ocean off the coast of New Zealand.

~ NASA