A Successful Failure
April 11–17, 1970
You haven't made your decisions yet, astronaut! 🚀
This page shows how your calls stacked up against NASA's — but the mission is still waiting for you on the launch pad.
Your Mission Performance
Your Decisions vs. NASA's Choices
| Decision Point | Your Choice | NASA's Choice | Result |
|---|
Share Your Score with Fellow Scouts!
Generate a shareable link to show your score and challenge your friends!
🎉 Your Share Link is Ready!
Share this link with fellow scouts to show your score and challenge them to try!
The Mission, in Brief
Apollo 13 launched April 11, 1970. Two days later, 200,000 miles from Earth, an oxygen tank exploded. With the Command Module dying, the crew moved into the Lunar Module as a lifeboat, swung around the Moon on a free-return trajectory, rationed water and power to the edge of survival, and improvised a CO2 scrubber out of spare parts. On April 17, all three astronauts splashed down safely.
Jim Lovell called it a "successful failure" — no Moon landing, but a rescue that became one of NASA's finest hours. Work the problem, stay calm, and use what you have: that's how the crew came home.
🏕️ Working on Merit Badges?
This whole experience is open source — about 1,600 lines of CSS and JavaScript across 36 HTML pages — and can count toward Programming, Digital Technology, and Space Exploration requirements.
🎪 2026 Elevate Scout Jamboree
NASA Tent - Apollo Table
Presented by Ed Gruhl
Scout District Commissioner, Glacial Trails District
Educational content based on NASA historical records
Apollo 13 mission: April 11–17, 1970
All three astronauts survived and returned safely