Apollo 13, Part 1

Clik to Launch (2:58) / poss 20 sec delay

Almost nine months prior to the liftoff of Apollo 13 for the moon, Apollo 11 roared to life on launch pad 39A from Merritt Island, Florida on 7/16/1969 09:32 hours. Three days later Eagle, the lunar module [LM], touched down on the surface of the Moon at 16:18 hours on 7.19.1969, “Houston, Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed.” Within 7 hours (7.20.1969 22:56,b), Neil Armstrong would be the realization of President John F. Kennedy’s dream of putting a man on the moon before the end of the decade, 5 months ahead of schedule,

“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing man on the moon and returning him safely to earth” (JFK, 5.25.1961).

As you well know, President Kennedy never got to realize his vision because his life was cut short by an assassin's bullet on 11.22.1963. Then comes the words branded on the skin of history from Neil Armstrong as his soles are covered with lunar dust,

Nasa.gov

“That’s one small step for a man, one giant step for mankind”b.

When lunar module pilot, Buzz Aldrin, descended from the lunar lander, he described the moon as,“Beautiful, beautiful! Magnificent desolation”b. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, right? A writer comments,

“He stared at a sky that was the darkest of blacks. No blue. No green. No birds flying across an airless landscape. There were many shades of gray and areas of utter black where rocks cast their shadows from an unfiltered sun, but no real color.... Neil had the camera and while Buzz went about setting up the experiments, he turned and looked for Earth, the true oasis of shifting colors in the solar system. It [The circumference of the earth at the equator is ~24,902 miles, added.b] appeared far larger from the moon than did the moon [The moon's equatorial circumference is ~6,783 miles, added b] from Earth. And it was many times brighter. Sunlight made it so by splashing off the bright clouds and blue oceans. It was hope. It was the warmest port in this corner of the universe, b [considering the coldness of space near absolute zero, added].”

I was enthralled, as any teenager, watching history in the making of the black and white images of Neil making his way down the ladder and becoming the first man to step upon the lunar surface in a low gravity environment. It seemed so surreal at the time. You could step outside and look at the moon and think, “Neil and Buzz are up there right now, wow!” Now, I am sure the angels were watching all of this going on over nothing, from their perspective, of man stepping on the moon in (1969 A.D.); compare Jacob’s vision of angels going up and down a “ladder” between heaven and earth (ca. 1928 B.C., Gn 28:12,b)! The distance between the earth and the moon is ~238,900 miles. The most distant galaxy we know of is over 13 billion light years away,b! Recall that light travels at a speed of ~186,000 miles a second, and God’s abode is outside the Universe! From our point of view, it was a very big deal!

This landing on the moon served, in some ways, as a needed distraction for a nation deeply divided over the Vietnam conflict and struggling with the ideologies of anti-establishmentism and pro-freedoms from societal norms; the number one illusory goal of the times by a younger generation – “freedom.” It was nothing more than another cultural outbreak of Jdg 21:25.   

Nearly four months after Apollo 11 took off, Apollo 12 rocketed into outer space on 11.14.1969 at 11:22. With two lunar landings under NASA’s belt, Apollo 13 should have been business as usual leaving earth’s atmosphere for the -454 degrees below Fahrenheit in the darkness of space at 14:13 on 4.11.1970.

This was the emblem of the ill-fated lunar landing mission of Apollo 13 that lifted off the same launch pad as 11 and 12 from the Kennedy Space Center.  Less than nine months after the first landing on the moon, the American Apollo space program intended a third lunar footprint. Rather than being the Latin expression, “Ex Luna Scientia,” meaning “from the moon, knowledge,” it became “Ex Pegasus Detrimentium” meaning from the third winged stallion to the moon from NASA's stables, detriment, loss, hurt – “Houston, we've had a problem.” The lunar module, Aquarius, would never reach the moon's surface and burn up during the reentry into the earth's atmosphere, sharing a similar fate as the damaged service module [SM].

Using their analogy, unlike the other two Apollo flights out of the gate and around the track to the finish line, extending “the light of knowledge to all mankind,” NASA discovered a dark reality over 200,000 miles above the earth when their Pegasus, the mythical winged horse of Greek mythology supposedly ridden by Apollo (NASA?), god of the sun, of the light, and of the truth from Grecian mythology, bucked on them. 

There was a serious problem with the service module due to an explosion of one of the oxygen tanks, and the lives of their astronauts were in jeopardy. NASA had no choice but to abort the lunar landing and focus on getting their people back home safely. Three astronauts were aboard the crippled Apollo 13 spacecraft: James Lovell Jr., commander, John Swigert, Jr., command module pilot, and Fred Haise, Jr., lunar module pilotb.

Is the number 13 just unreliable, unlucky, or just another number? How many elevators in high rises have the number 13? Superstitions are based on ignorance or fear, but the Apollo13 moon launch didn’t help to change people’s minds that the number 13 is just like any other number? Apollo 13 reminded us all of the dangers of space travel and the recent deaths of three astronauts (Virgil Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee) of Apollo 1 who died during a pre-flight test when a fire broke out in the command module on 1.27.1967. Astronauts had to possess “the right stuff” to venture into the very hostile environment of space. 

Fra Mauro / Lunar & Planetary Laboratory, Univ of AZ

Following Apollo 13, Apollo 14 blasted into space on 1.31.1971 at 16:03 and completed the third lunar landing. Apollo 13’s landing site had been reassigned to Apollo 14 at the Fra Mauro highlands, near the Luna Resort known for its luxurious accommodations and pampering of guests. The primary objectives were the same: exploration of the moon, surveying, sampling lunar material, gathering scientific data, and taking lots of photosb.

Apollo 15 left for the moon on 7.26.1971 at 09:34, and Apollo 16 lifted off into space on 4.16.1972 at 12:54. The last manned lunar landing was Apollo 17, launching after midnight at 00:23 or 23 minutes during the witching hour on 12.7.1972b.

Apollo Landings in Green / Credit?

The American Apollo program attempted 7 manned lunar landing with an 85.714% success rate. I seriously doubt that NASA would have back then or now publicly acknowledge had it not been for God they would have never reached the Moon or brought all their courageous crews back to “the warmest port in this corner of the Universe.”

Often, what we get is this notion that human achievements are all done in the strength of man, not God; therefore, no divine credit is given. Truly, those who know God know that without Him we can do nothing (Jn 15:5). It wasn’t Apollo or NASA bringing the light of knowledge to the world, but God for His glory alone who allowed for it to be revealed (Jn 8:12; 2 Cor 4:6). Remember Nebuchadnezzar’s soliloquy on his assessment of his greatness (Dan 4:30) and his ultimate “I’m not-so-great after all” realization seven years later (Dan 4:31, 34, 35)? Seven years away from occupying the throne changed his way of thinking,

“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down” (Dan 4:37).  

I wonder how much more could have been accomplished if God was in all the inner workings of NASA because God’s sovereignty and right to rule in the life of every human being was acknowledged? Does it seem so ridiculous a thought? Lay aside for a minute the notion that the money spent on space exploration could have been given to the poor (cf. Mt 26:9; Jn 12:5). Consider how much we spend on ourselves?

What would happen if God was allowed to access all the inner workings of our lives? How much more could be accomplished for His glory? Are we launching out for God’s glory because we recognize and submit to His authority to rule in our lives? Or is our mission to go no further than the earth’s atmosphere in our thinking and behavior, worldly-minded? I thank God for an entity like NASA in exploring God’s general revelation though they don’t think of it in those terms! You may feel differently. 

The more they reveal from their findings of the universe; the more they herald the greatness of God and the marvelous wonders of God’s creation to us, priceless! Since a little boy gazing up at the stars I have been enraptured by its size and beauty. Once I came to know the Lord my view of it was never the same; the coldness of space became a little warmer because this was God's handiwork (Gn 1:1; Psa 8:3-4; 19:1; 33:6; 104:19; 136:7-8,9; Rom 1:20). 

What I see above is His greatness and manifold wisdom. Despite the immensity of His creation above, my significance is found in Him made in His image and His Holy Spirit living within me. My mission, our mission, is to take that step of faith to glorify Him alone in the here and now because of who He is and what He has done for us! And when we do,

“That’s one small step of faith for a believer, but one giant leap for God’s glory!”

What side of history or eternity do you want to be on (1 Pet 1:24; 1 Jn 2:17a or 1 Jn 2:17b)? It takes the right stuff to be a believer in Christ (Eph 2:8-9, 10)! <><

To Part 2: b