Apollo 13 crew with President Nixon. The crew of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission after their return to Earth, seen at a press conference in Hawaii with President Richard Nixon. The crew members are (left to right): Jack Swigert, Fred Haise and James Lovell. Apollo 13 was launched on 11 April 1970, and was planned to be the third manned landing on the Moon. Two days into the flight, about 300,000km from Earth, an explosion in an oxygen tank crippled the spacecraft. The three astronauts used the Lunar Module as a liferaft, only returning to the Command Module just before re-entry to Earth. Apollo 13 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on 17 April 1970.