Ars Reflects on Apollo 13 Turning 30

30 Years Ago, A Classic Sci-Fi Thriller Was The Last Gasp Of A Historic Moment

Universal PicturesNASA plans to put men on the Moon in 2027, a fact you’re probably unaware of. Artemis III would be the first time a human being sets foot on Luna since December 1972, but if it happens, the public will likely react with a collective shrug. While opinion polls show broad support for NASA as an institution, just 12% of Americans believe returning to the Moon (or sending manned missions to Mars) should be its top priority. In the …

Ars reflects on Apollo 13 turning 30

Ron Howard’s 1995 love letter to NASA’s Apollo program takes a few historical liberties but it still inspires awe.

‘What balls!’: ‘Apollo 13’ star Kathleen Quinlan on firing off notes to Ron Howard, secret dinner with Tom Hanks, and why her Oscar-nominated role was more than just ‘the wife’

First things first: yes, the ring thing really happened. Early on in Apollo 13 — Ron Howard’s 1995 dramatization of the famous 1970 NASA space odyssey that very nearly became a space tragedy — there’s a scene that plays more like fiction than fact. On the morning of the launch that rockets Jim Lovell (played by Tom Hanks) into the wild blue yonder, the celebrated astronaut’s wife, Marilyn (Kathleen Quinlan), steps into a motel shower… and watche…