History of Space Exploration: Chapter 6, Exercise 2 — Possible Solution ====================================================================== PRECISE STATEMENT An oxygen tank exploded at 55 hours 55 minutes; the landing was aborted, so the mission's geological and lunar surface goals were not achieved. The crew returned safely, splashing down on 17 April 1970, using the lunar module as a lifeboat on a free-return trajectory. WHY "FAILURE" IS TOO BROAD It merges the mission objective (not achieved) with the outcome for the crew (safe return). The review's recommendations were applied to Apollo 14.