On April 11, 1970, three men were schedule to fly and land on the moon. The mission labeled Apollo 13. Alan shepherd, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell made-up the original crew members of Apollo 13, but because of an innerear surgery, Alan Shephard felt unprepared to fly Apollo 13. Jim Lovell, the commander of Apollo 14, ws then approached and asked if he would mind switching flights with Shepard. Jim did not think there would be a great difference between the two flights and wanted to get back to the moon. He agreed and his crew began training. (Lovell and Kluger, 60-61) Jim's crew included Fred Haise, Ken Mattingly, and himself. They gladly accepted the mission. Little did these men know, however their flight was going to be riddled with problems and be forever remembered for them. The three men should have known that their mission was fated for mishaps when at the last minute Ken Mattingly was removed from the crew because of an accidental exposure to German measles.
Oblique view of the Fra Mauro formation, the landi...
List of spacewalkers
Mattingly (center) as part of the original prime c...He was replaced the "playboy" Jack Swigert. Jack, who was no taken very seriously by the public, became a huge asset to the crew of Apollo 13.
The chosen men of Apollo 13 were to become the second group of men launched towards the moon. Their mission was clear: Get the moon. Apollo 13 planned to land in the Fra Mauro Formation, an extensive geologic unit covering large portions of the moon. The men were to exit the spacecraft and perform numerous experiments for NASA. These experiments would give information on the position of the moon's surface and its information. Age dating would have been done when the samples returned to earth. This