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Apollo Astronaut Knox Flight Jacket

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Apollo 13 was the third manned lunar-landing mission, part of Project Apollo under NASA in the United States. The crew members were Commander James A. Lovell, Command Module pilot John L. "Jack" Swigert, and Lunar Module pilot Fred W. Haise. It launched on April 11, 1970. Two days after the launch, the Apollo spacecraft was crippled by an explosion, caused by a fault in the oxygen tank. The explosion damaged the Service Module, resulting in a loss of oxygen and electrical power. The crew used the Lunar Module as a “lifeboat” in space. The command module systems remained functional, but were deactivated to preserve the vehicle's capability to reenter Earth’s atmosphere. Despite great hardship caused by severe constraints on power, cabin heat, and potable water, the crew successfully returned to Earth. The mission was thus called a "Successful Failure".

The Apollo 13 logo featured three (Steeds of Apollo) flying horses of Apollo's chariot across the sky, the motto “Ex luna, scientia” (from the Moon, knowledge), and the number of the mission in Roman numerals (APOLLO XIII). It is one of two Apollo insignias (the other being that of Apollo 11) not to include the names of the crew (which was fortunate, considering that Ken Mattingly, one of the original crew members, was replaced not long before the mission began). It was designed by artist Lumen Winter, who based it on a mural he had done for the St. Regis Hotel in New York; the mural was later purchased by actor Tom Hanks, who portrayed Lovell in the movie Apollo 13, and now is on the wall of a restaurant in Chicago, owned by Lovell's son. The fourth horse falling away in the picture is said to be Ken Mattingly. Two days before the launch, backup Lunar Module pilot Charlie Duke contracted rubella (German measles) from one of his children, exposing the main crew. Although Lovell and Haise had had rubella as children, command module pilot Ken Mattingly had not, and the flight surgeons grounded him, replacing him with Swigert. This may have been a blessing in disguise for him – Mattingly never developed rubella, and later flew on Apollo 16 and several Space Shuttle flights, while none of the Apollo 13 astronauts flew in space again.

The Apollo 11 mission was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. It was the fifth human spaceflight of the Apollo program and the third human voyage to the moon. Launched on July 16, 1969, it carried Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to land on the Moon, while Collins orbited above. The mission fulfilled President John F. Kennedy's goal of reaching the moon by the end of the 1960s. In a 1961 speech he had proposed - "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth".

The familiar patch of Apollo 11 was designed by Collins, who wanted a symbol for "peaceful lunar landing by the United States". He picked an eagle as the symbol, put an olive branch in its beak, and drew a moon background with the earth in the distance. NASA officials said the talons of the eagle looked too "warlike" and after some discussion, the olive branch was moved to the claws. The crew decided the Roman numeral XI would not be understood in some nations and went with Apollo 11; they decided not to put their names on the patch to "allow it to symbolize everyone who worked on the moon landing". All colors are natural, with blue and gold borders around the patch. The LM was named Eagle to match the insignia. When the Eisenhower silver dollar was revived a few years later, the patch design provided the eagle for the back of the coin; the design was kept for the smaller Susan B. Anthony dollar.

In July 1960, NASA was preparing to implement its long range plans for a manned lunar project. The name "APOLLO" was chosen by NASA from ancient Greek mythology. Apollo was the god of archery, prophecy, poetry, music and god of the Sun. On the emblem, the Earth and Moon flank a large stylized letter "A" against a background of stars. Constellation Orion, The Mighty Hunter, is positioned so its three central stars form the bar of the letter "A". The face of the Moon represents the mythical god, Apollo.

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