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Lot 329
[Apollo 13] THE ABANDONED LIFEBOAT LM AQUARIUS BEFORE EARTH RE-ENTRY Jack Swigert or Fred Haise, 11-17 April 1970
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue HocheSold for €307.20 inc. premium
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[Apollo 13] THE ABANDONED LIFEBOAT LM AQUARIUS BEFORE EARTH RE-ENTRY
Jack Swigert or Fred Haise, 11-17 April 1970
Printed 1970.
Vintage gelatin silver print on fibre-based paper [NASA image AS13-59-8562].
Numbered "AS13-59-8562" in black in the top margin (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas).
20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.).
Historical context
Farewell, Aquarius—the lifeboat that saved Apollo 13.
Just over an hour before splashdown, the Apollo 13 crew transferred back into the Command Module Odyssey, leaving behind their lifeboat, Lunar Module Aquarius. Though it never landed on the Moon, Aquarius became an essential refuge, keeping the astronauts alive through their harrowing journey home. Once undocked, the abandoned LM drifted away before ultimately burning up on re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.
From the mission transcript at the moment of LM jettison:
141:30:05 Kerwin (Mission Control): Farewell, Aquarius, and we thank you.
From this moment onward, the mission resembled previous Apollo landings, with the Command Module executing a safe splashdown in the South Pacific, just one mile from the target point.
"Survive we did, but it was close. Our mission was a failure, but I like to think it was a successful failure."
— James Lovell (NASA SP-350, p. 247)
Printed 1970.
Vintage gelatin silver print on fibre-based paper [NASA image AS13-59-8562].
Numbered "AS13-59-8562" in black in the top margin (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas).
20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.).
Historical context
Farewell, Aquarius—the lifeboat that saved Apollo 13.
Just over an hour before splashdown, the Apollo 13 crew transferred back into the Command Module Odyssey, leaving behind their lifeboat, Lunar Module Aquarius. Though it never landed on the Moon, Aquarius became an essential refuge, keeping the astronauts alive through their harrowing journey home. Once undocked, the abandoned LM drifted away before ultimately burning up on re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.
From the mission transcript at the moment of LM jettison:
141:30:05 Kerwin (Mission Control): Farewell, Aquarius, and we thank you.
From this moment onward, the mission resembled previous Apollo landings, with the Command Module executing a safe splashdown in the South Pacific, just one mile from the target point.
"Survive we did, but it was close. Our mission was a failure, but I like to think it was a successful failure."
— James Lovell (NASA SP-350, p. 247)
Footnotes
Watch more
CLICK HERE: HISTORIC NASA FILM APOLLO 13 "HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM» 34062