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Apollo 13 Moon Mission
April (2010) marks the 40th anniversary of the launch and recovery of Apollo 13. NASA described the mission unsuccessful because it failed to reach the moon because of the failure of equipment and systems on board the orbiting space capsule.
It also considered the mission successful because the astronauts on board were able to survive these major hazards and return the command module safely back to Earth in a Pacific splashdown several days later. The story of this mission was featured in a 1995 movie, "Apollo 13," starring Tom Hanks as James A. Lovell, the mission commander.
Apollo 13 followed the successes of Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 that landed on and explored the moon. On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 commander, Neil Armstrong, became the first man to step onto the surface of the Moon—an unparalleled scientific accomplishment for the U.S.
Several months later, on November 14, 1969, Apollo 12 was able to accomplish the same feat with Charles (Pete) Conrad, Jr. as its commander. Since the time of Apollo 13, NASA has not attempted any other missions to puts astronauts on the moon, relying on unmanned vehicles to do the exploring and scientific experiments.
Learning Activity
Students can learn more about moon exploration, its importance to the U.S. and other countries, by using the pathfinder listed below.
Assign student to write a report of at least 100 words (or a presentation of at least five slides) that cites at least three resources. Students should address the following essential questions for critical thinking (you can add or substitute others):
- Why is it important for the U.S. and other countries to explore the moon?
- Why do we use unmanned vehicles and robots to explore the moon today?
- What are some other countries that have sent probes to the surface of the moon?
- What are some things that we have learned about the moon that will benefit us in the future?
Pathfinder
Subject Heading option > Type "Moon Exploration" > Click "Moon, Exploration"
Use our custom ProQuest models for written and PowerPoint-style reports.
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