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In April 1970, three astronauts—Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise—found themselves farther from Earth than any human being before or since. Aboard Apollo 13, they reached an astonishing distance of 400,171 kilometers (248,655 miles) from home—about 1.3 light-seconds away.But this record wasn’t part of the plan. The crew’s mission to land on the Moon turned into a desperate fight for survival when an oxygen tank exploded, crippling the spacecraft. To make it back alive, NASA’s engineers and the astronauts devised a daring maneuver: slingshotting around the Moon to use its gravity for a return trajectory toward Earth.As Apollo 13 swung behind the far side of the Moon—completely cut off from radio contact with mission control—they were literally the farthest humans have ever been from our planet.Their incredible journey wasn’t about breaking distance records—it was about resilience, teamwork, and human ingenuity in the face of impossible odds. The mission ended safely, and the story of Apollo 13 remains one of humanity’s greatest space survival tales.