The book is the basis of the 1995 film adaptation Apollo 13, directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks as Lovell.

Fred Haise was not interested in the collaboration, and Jack Swigert had died of cancer in 1982.

An explosion of an onboard liquid oxygen tank in the Service Module, when the craft was close to reaching the Moon, crippled the electrical power generation and propulsion systems for the Command Module Odyssey.

This necessitated the abort of the lunar landing, and placed the lives of astronauts Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise in serious jeopardy.

The mission became famous for the safe return of the men, made possible by the flight controllers' resourceful adaptation of the electrical, propulsion, and life support systems of the Lunar Module Aquarius as a "lifeboat".