Editing Apollo 13 (section)

== Background ==
In 1961, U.S. President [[John F. Kennedy]] challenged his nation to land an astronaut on the [[Moon]] by the end of the decade, with a safe return to Earth.<ref name = "mission overview" /> [[NASA]] worked towards this goal incrementally, sending astronauts into space during [[Project Mercury]] and [[Project Gemini]], leading up to the [[Apollo program]].{{sfn|Hacker & Grimwood|2010|p=382}} The goal was achieved with [[Apollo 11]], which landed on the Moon on July&nbsp;20, 1969. [[Neil Armstrong]] and [[Buzz Aldrin]] walked on the lunar surface while [[Michael Collins (astronaut)|Michael Collins]] orbited the Moon in [[Command module Columbia|Command Module ''Columbia'']]. The mission returned to Earth on July&nbsp;24, 1969, fulfilling Kennedy's challenge.<ref name = "mission overview">{{cite web|title=Apollo 11 Mission Overview|url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo11.html|date=December 21, 2017|access-date=February 14, 2019|publisher=[[NASA]]}}</ref>

NASA had contracted for fifteen [[Saturn&nbsp;V]] rockets to achieve the goal; at the time no one knew how many missions this would require.{{sfn|Chaikin|1995|pp=232–233}} Since success was obtained in 1969 with the sixth Saturn{{nbsp}}V on Apollo&nbsp;11, nine rockets remained available for a hoped-for [[Canceled Apollo missions#Follow-on lunar missions|total of ten landings]]. After the excitement of Apollo&nbsp;11, the general public grew apathetic towards the space program and Congress continued to cut NASA's budget; [[Apollo 20]] was canceled.{{sfn|Chaikin|1995|p=285}} Despite the successful lunar landing, the missions were considered so risky that astronauts could not afford life insurance to provide for their families if they died in space.{{NoteTag|No Apollo astronaut flew without life insurance, but the policies were paid for by private third parties whose involvement was not publicized.<ref name = "weinberger" />}}<ref name="weinberger">{{cite web|last=Weinberger|first=Howard C.|title=Apollo Insurance Covers|publisher=Space Flown Artifacts (Chris Spain)|url=http://www.spaceflownartifacts.com/flown_apollo_insurance_covers.html|access-date=December 11, 2019}}</ref>

[[File:1970 Mission Control Apollo 13.jpg|thumb|left|alt=see caption|Mission Operations Control Room during the TV broadcast just before the Apollo&nbsp;13 accident. Astronaut [[Fred Haise]] is shown on the screen.]]
Even before the first U.S. astronaut entered space in 1961, planning for a centralized facility to communicate with the spacecraft and monitor its performance had begun, for the most part the brainchild of [[Christopher C. Kraft Jr.]], who became NASA's first [[Flight controller#Flight director|flight director]]. During [[John Glenn]]'s Mercury ''[[Friendship 7]]'' flight in February 1962 (the first crewed orbital flight by the U.S.), one of Kraft's decisions was overruled by NASA managers. He was vindicated by post-mission analysis and implemented a rule that, during the mission, the flight director's word was absolute<ref name = "mission control history">{{cite web|last=Neufeld|first=Michael J.|author-link=Michael J. Neufeld|title=Remembering Chris Kraft: Pioneer of Mission Control|url=https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/remembering-chris-kraft-pioneer-mission-control|publisher=[[Smithsonian Air and Space Museum]]|date=July 24, 2019|access-date=December 8, 2019}}</ref> – to overrule him, NASA would have to fire him on the spot.<ref name = "Cass 1" /> Flight directors during Apollo had a one-sentence job description, "The flight director may take any actions necessary for crew safety and mission success."<ref>{{cite news|title=A legendary tale, well-told|access-date=October 5, 2019|last=Williams|first=Mike|url=https://news.rice.edu/2012/09/13/a-legendary-tale-well-told/|publisher=Rice University Office of Public Affairs|date=September 13, 2012|archive-date=August 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817125432/https://news.rice.edu/2012/09/13/a-legendary-tale-well-told/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Houston's [[Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center|Mission Control Center]] was opened in 1965. It was in part designed by Kraft and now named for him.<ref name = "mission control history" />  In Mission Control, each flight controller, in addition to monitoring [[telemetry]] from the spacecraft, was in communication via voice loop to specialists in a Staff Support Room (or "back room"), who focused on specific spacecraft systems.<ref name = "Cass 1" />

Apollo&nbsp;13 was to be the second [[List of Apollo missions#Alphabetical mission types|H mission]], meant to demonstrate precision lunar landings and explore specific sites on the Moon.{{sfn|Apollo Program Summary Report|1975|p=B-2}} With Kennedy's goal accomplished by Apollo&nbsp;11, and [[Apollo 12]] demonstrating that the astronauts could perform a precision landing, mission planners were able to focus on more than just landing safely and having astronauts minimally trained in geology gather lunar samples to take home to Earth. There was a greater role for science on Apollo&nbsp;13, especially for geology, something emphasized by the mission's motto, ''Ex luna, scientia'' (From the Moon, knowledge).{{sfn|Launius|2019|p=186}}