If you ever wanted to see the moon from the perspective of the Apollo 13 astronauts, this is probably what you were waiting for. NASA has released a video of the moon which is exactly how the Apollo 13 mission saw it all those years ago. This has visualizations in 4K using the data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft.
“This video showcases visualizations in 4K resolution of many of those lunar surface views, starting with earth-set and sunrise, and concluding with the time Apollo 13 reestablished radio contact with Mission Control. Also depicted is the path of the free return trajectory around the Moon, and a continuous view of the Moon throughout that path," says NASA. They however clarify that the visuals have been sped up and aren’t in real-time. “Recreating what they saw requires not only excellent maps but also knowledge of the spacecraft's flight path — all of the animations on this page are views from the position of the spacecraft at specific times during their flight behind the Moon, using the same focal lengths as the lenses on board," says NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio.
NASA said that the Apollo 13 mission was in darkness for around eight minutes during which time they were between earthset and sunrise and till the lunar terrain emerged on the horizon. The Apollo 13 was the seventh crewed mission as part of the Apollo space program, and was the third mission meant to land on the moon. The spacecraft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970. An explosion on board which resulted in the rupture of service module oxygen tank, forced Apollo 13 to circle the moon without landing. “Still, it was classified as a "successful failure" because of the experience gained in rescuing the crew. The mission's spent upper stage successfully impacted the moon," NASA had said earlier.
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