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Masks required in Abakanowicz Research Center; optional for rest of Museum MORE

“Houston, we’ve had a problem here.”

On This Day in 1970, an estimated 40 million people watched on television as Apollo 13 splashed down safely in the South Pacific. The lunar module was supposed to be the third mission to land on the moon, but an explosion in one of the oxygen tanks during the flight forced astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise to orbit the moon instead and return to earth. A few weeks afterward, Lovell and Swigert were honored in Chicago with a parade. See our collection of images.

Ceremony to honor Apollo 13 astronauts and crew, Chicago, 1970. Chicago Sun-Times collection, CHM, ST-19080034-0007; M. Leon Lopez, photographer

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Thousands of images from our vast collection are available for you to search, license, download, and print. We encourage the use of our images for a variety of personal, nonprofit, and commercial purposes and all proceeds support the Chicago History Museum and our mission to share Chicago’s stories. Learn more.

Chicago History Museum Sharing Chicago Stories
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