Apollo 131995

Reporter 1:
So, the number 13 doesn't bother you?

Fred Haise:
Only if it's a Friday, Phil.

Reporter:
Apollo 13, lifting of at thirteen hundred hours and thirteen minutes, and entering the moon's gravity on April 13th.

Jim Lovell:
Ken Mattingly's been doing some scientific research regarding that very phenomenon, haven't you, Ken?

Ken Mattingly:
Uh, yes, well, I had a black cat walk over a broken mirror under the lunar module ladder. It didn't seem to be a problem.

Fred Haise:
We're also considering a letter from a fella who said we oughta take a pig up with us for good luck.

Reporter 1:
Does it bother you that the public regards this flight as routine?

Jim Lovell:
There's nothing routine about flying to the moon. I can vouch for that. And, uh… I think that an astronaut's last mission, his final flight, that's always going to be very special.

Reporter 2:
Why is this your last, Jim?

Jim Lovell:
I'm in command of the best ship with the best crew that anybody could ask for, and I'll be walking in a place where there's 400 degrees difference between sunlight and shadow. I can't imagine, uh, ever topping that.