FRED HAISE

On April 11, 1970, the Apollo 13 crew left Earth on a Saturn V rocket. Fifty-two years later at 88-years-old, Apollo 13 astronaut, and Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise, remembers those harrowing moments, describing them vividly in his newly released book, memoir, Never Panic Early: An Apollo 13 Astronaut’s Journey.

It was a mission that captured the world’s attention: a moon landing mission turned heart-stopping rescue.

Forty-five years after it made its public debut, NASA's space shuttle Enterprise is being rolled out again, this time as a rollerball pen. Retro 51 announced its new Space Shuttle Enterprise Tornado, the latest in its line of collectible writing instruments.

Fifty-one years to the day after they survived an explosion on the way to the moon, Jim Lovell and Fred Haise came face-to-face with their post-splashdown selves at Space Center Houston. The Apollo 13 crewmates toasted a sculpture capturing their recovery.

On April 11, 1970, three astronauts and a team here on Earth dared to attempt what was expected to be the third moon landing. However, just shy of 56 hours into the mission, the crew experienced a problem that would turn into a full-fledged effort to get the crew back to Earth alive.

The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation has launched a new program to connect people directly to astronauts in a new monthly club.

The new Apollo 13 statue at Space Center Houston stands in honor of both the astronauts and the team in Mission Control, who worked to ensure the crew's safe return. James Lovell, Fred Haise and the late Jack Swigert have been immortalized as a bronze statue now on display at Space Center Houston, the official visitor center for NASA's Johnson Space Center in Texas. The Apollo 13 statue at Space Center Houston depicts Jim Lovanniversarell (at center), Fred Haise (at left) and Jack Swigert at the moment of their recovery after the ill-fated mission. (Image credit: Space Center Houston)The Apollo 13 statue is the Lundeens' second time sculpting Swigert's likeness. Documentary filmmaker Steven Barber presented the Apollo 13 statue project to Space Center Houston and advised on its execution.

A segment of netting removed from the Apollo 13 lunar module and mounted post-flight for presentation by the crew as a souvenir of their April 1970 moon mission. Pre-flight photo of an Apollo 13 sample return container (SRC). Astronaut Jack Lousma, serving as capsule communicator, or capcom, in Mission Control in Houston, replied that he would get somebody to work on that. Apollo 13 lunar module crewman optical alignment sight (COAS), at left, and replacement lunar plaque with command module pilot Jack Swigert's name on display at the Adler Planetarium. The Apollo 13 crew mounted and presented the mirror to Mission Control.

Fifty years after Apollo 13, a vintage documentary from the National Archives takes us back to one of the most iconic human spaceflight missions of all time. This documentary, "Apollo 13: Houston, We've Got a Problem," named after the famous line uttered first by Apollo 13 astronaut Jack Swigert, is comprised of archival footage from the mission. Related: See Apollo 13 as it happened with Apollo 13 in Real TimeYou can see a full version here or watch part 1 below. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission, NASA created a new documentary on the flight. Called "Apollo 13: Home Safe," the 30-minute program looks back at Apollo 13, its legacy and its lessons for future moon missions.

Apollo 13 was surrounded by superstition from the start, the number 13 believed to be unlucky, but NASA wasnt going to let that get in the way of Science. Related: Apollo 13 in Real Time website offers new insight into missionThis article is brought to you by All About Space. Time: 55:55:20, "Houston, we've had a problem"The ground-based Apollo 13 team gather around in Mission Control to solve the oxygen cell failure problem. Time: 57:43:00, To the lifeboatThe Apollo 13 crew moved to their cramped LM and used it as a "lifeboat." It was up to Houston to find a makeshift filtration method using only items on board Apollo 13.

On April 11, 1970, NASA launched three Apollo 13 astronauts to land on the moon. Related: How Apollo 13's dangerous survival mission worked (infographic)Apollo 13 crew(Image credit: NASA)The crew of NASA's Apollo 13 lunar landing mission, poses for a group photo shortly before the mission launched in April 1970. From left to right: Apollo 13 Cmdr. Practice for the day(Image credit: NASA)Two crewmembers of NASA's Apollo 13 lunar landing mission practice using tools from the Apollo Lunar Hand Tools and a gnomon. In the background to the left is Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise.

Related: See Apollo 13 as it happened with Apollo 13 in Real Time websiteThe medallion, which is available for $25 to $35 depending on the retailer, features a design based on the Apollo 13 mission patch, amended with the years and the number "50" denoting the anniversary. Winco has also produced an Apollo 13 50th anniversary embroidered patch and a lapel pin , the latter also minted with metal flown on an Apollo capsule to the moon. A different, limited edition Apollo 13 50th anniversary lapel pin is not for sale, but is instead being offered in return for donations. "Support INFINITY during our COVID-19 closure and we'll mail you an Apollo 13 50th Anniversary Commemorative pin as a thank you. The lapel pin features art from the Apollo 13 mission patch and reproduces lunar module pilot Fred Haise's autograph.

Fred Haise is a former U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps pilot and NASA astronaut most famous for his role as the lunar module pilot for the nearly-catastrophic Apollo 13 mission. Haise, an ex-fighter pilot, was selected for NASA's astronaut program in 1966 and served as the backup lunar module pilot for the Apollo 8 and Apollo 11 missions. NASA portrait photo of Fred Haise, Apollo 13 crewmember and one of the first space shuttle pilots. Related: Apollo 13: The hectic timeline of NASA's 'successful failure' moonshotHaise, along with commander Jim Lovell, was supposed to walk on the moon during Apollo 13. Related: 10 Amazing space shuttle photosHaise and crewmate Gordon Fullerton executed a series of flight tests for the space shuttle Enterprise.

The celebrations scheduled for the 50th anniversary of NASA's Apollo 13 mission have been delayed or replanned in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The flight plans had been filed, the logistics confirmed and the countdown was on to celebrate the 50th anniversary of NASA's Apollo 13 mission. The Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas, home to the Apollo 13 command module Odyssey (pictured), has rescheduled its Apollo 13 mission debrief and gala for November 2020. In addition to supporting the new multimedia website "Apollo 13 in Real Time," the agency will premiere a new documentary short on its television channel and website, "Apollo 13: Home Safe," at 8 p.m. EDT on Friday, April 10. Planned for April 11, the reception and dinner program was to feature Griffin, Lunney, Windler, astronaut and Apollo 13 support crew member Vance Brand and actor Clint Howard, who was in the 1995 movie "Apollo 13."

Related: Apollo 13 in Real Time website offers new insight into mission, 50 years laterThe Apollo 13 astronautsThe Apollo 13 astronauts were commander James Lovell, lunar module pilot Fred Haise, and command module pilot John "Jack" Swigert. Prior to the Apollo 13 mission, 36 year-old Haise served as the backup lunar module pilot for the Apollo 8 and Apollo 11 missions. (Note that the 1995 movie "Apollo 13" took some creative license with the phrase, changing it to "Houston, we have a problem" and having the words come out of Apollo 13 commander James Lovell's mouth.) The book, "Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13" (Houghton Mifflin, 1994), spurred the 1995 movie "Apollo 13," starring actor Tom Hanks. Related: Isle of Man marks Apollo 13 50th with new 'One Giant Leap' stampsOther biographical accounts of the Apollo 13 mission include Liebergot and David Harland's "Apollo EECOM: Journey of a Lifetime" (Collector's Guide Publishing, 2003) and Kranz's "Failure Is Not An Option" (Simon & Schuster, 2000).