Space History Photo: Odyssey On Deck

The prime recovery ship for the Apollo 13 mission hoists the Command Module aboard the ship. CREDIT: NASA. View full size image

In this historical photo from the U.S. space agency, crewmen aboard the U.S.S. Iwo Jima, prime recovery ship for the Apollo 13 mission, hoist the Command Module aboard ship. The Apollo 13 crewmen were already aboard the Iwo Jima when this photograph was taken. The Apollo 13 spacecraft splashed down at 12:07:44 p.m., April 17, 1970 in the South Pacific Ocean.

Each weekday, SPACE.com looks back at the history of spaceflight through photos (archive).