Apollo 13- Why I Love and What I Have Learned?

"Hello Houston, this is Odyssey! Its' good to see you again!"

Apollo 13, released on 1995, holds an IMDB rating of 7.5/10. It stars Tom Hanks, during his better days. The movie talks about the story of three lunar astronauts on an ill-fated mission to Moon. Although the launch was successful their module encountered some technical trouble and and subsequent explosion on board ripped the heat shield off the ship. The life aboard the malfunctioning space module and their heroic re-entry back to Earth summarises the plot. The tension building scenes and gripping background score make the climax an unforgettable one. Then, it is no wonder that the movie dialogue of my choice is Tom Hank's re-entry hello to the mission control, "Hello, Houston, this is Odyssey! Its' good to see you again!"

Apollo 13 crew; Lovell (left) Swigert (middle) Haise (right)

The movie is based on a real life event. Apollo 13 was the seventh manned-mission and third lunar one. They were launched on April 11, 1970 and crew returned safely back to earth on April 17. James. A. Lovell, the captain of the ship was an experienced test pilot who had experienced emergency aboard. The life of this man is an inspiration, strengthening our resolve to face and fight adversity and succeed. The entire story of Apollo 13 is that of indomitable human will power, team work and belief in the motto 'failure is not an option.' Let me remind you, the word succeed here doesn't mean glory or honour. Personally, the word stresses the importance on human will to survive. At the end of the day, nothing else matters than just staying alive. In a nutshell Apollo 13 personifies the best of humanity and represents one of my most favourite episodes in human history!