On April 11, 1970, NASA launched Apollo 13, the third crewed mission aiming for a moon landing. Two days later, 210,000 miles from Earth an oxygen tank exploded and led to one of the most intense space rescues in history.
Though the story is familiar—and not just because of Ron Howard’s 1995 popcorn movie — Peter Middleton’s new Netflix documentary Apollo 13: The Survival provides a swirling, three-dimensional breeze from those six difficult days in space and on land, capturing both the tension of space and the emotional strain on Earth.
Based on archival NASA footage, news reports and interviews with people involved in the mission, it recreates those harrowing days for astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise.
It also explores the complex problem-solving going on in Houston’s Mission Control, where engineers and astronauts rigorously worked to bring their crewmen home. In Middleton’s version, the story unfolds subtly yet authentically through recovered archival material mixed with original recordings and sparse recreations.
The movie excels by taking it back and shining the spotlight on what was going through this crew’s heads, as well as their loved ones — most notably Marilyn Lovell (Jim Lovell’s wife). The most powerful moment: Marilyn says haltingly, “For four days I didn’t know if I was a wife or a widow…”. These raw moments highlight the personal sacrifices made by the astronauts’ families, making the documentary as much about human endurance as about technological ingenuity.
While we know how Apollo 13 ends, with a successful return to Earth, the documentary keeps you on the edge of your seat by reliving every step of their journey. In the hours following the explosion, down to a risky plan of making the Lunar Module (LM) act as a lifeboat, Middleton stresses just how close they came to fatal outcomes by pouring over statistics that summarized NASA’s belief that its crew had only about 10 or so per cent chance in hell of coming back. This leads to a tense, heart-pounding retelling of one of the most well-known moments in NASA history.
Apollo 13: Survival was released in September 2024, showcasing not only the scientific brilliance that saved astronauts but also the emotional burden carried by those on Earth. While space nerds will no doubt enjoy this fitting tribute to both the bravery of astronauts and NASA’s own Lazarus move, it’s also a riveting science narrative for anyone interested in real-life tales of survival against impossible odds.
Images Credit: Netflix