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        APOLLO 13
Apollo 13 was the third Apollo mission intended to land on the Moon. The craft was successfully launched toward the Moon, but the landing had to be aborted after an oxygen tank ruptured, severely damaging the spacecraft's electrical system. The flight was commanded by James A. Lovell with John L. "Jack" Swigert as Command Module pilot and Fred W. Haise as Lunar Module pilot. Swigert was a late replacement for the original CM pilot Ken Mattingly, who was grounded by the flight surgeon after exposure to German measles. The mission was launched on April 11, 1970 at 13:13 CST. Two days later an explosion crippled the service module upon which the Command Module depended. To conserve its batteries and the oxygen needed for the last hours of flight, the crew instead used the Lunar Module's resources as a "lifeboat" during the return trip to Earth. Despite great hardship caused by limited power, loss of cabin heat, shortage of potable water and the critical need to jury-rig the carbon dioxide removal system, the crew returned safely to Earth on April 17. NASA called the mission a "successful failure". (Wikipedia) This was a true story of survival that left the entire country in heated suspense to see whether or not the three astronauts would make it back safely or not. The fact that they were resourceful enough to survive in space in such conditions and land successfully makes this one of the most awesome stories in history.
Nominated by Trane
Image Credits
Filename: apollo135.jpgSource: Apollo 13 liftoff Url: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apollo_13_liftoff-KSC-70PC-160HR.jpg 
Filename: apollo13.jpgSource: The actual Apollo 13 lunar landing mission prime crew from left to right are: Commander, James A. Lovell Jr., Command Module pilot, John L. Swigert Jr.and Lunar Module pilot, Fred W. Haise Jr.The original Command Module pilot for this mission was Thomas "Ken" Mattingly Jr. but due to exposure to German measles he was replaced by his backup, Command Module pilot, John L. "Jack" Swigert Jr. Url: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Actual_Apollo_13_Prime_Crew_-_GPN-2000-001167.jpg 
Filename: apollo134.jpgSource: Apollo13 - view of the crippled Service Module after separation. Url: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apollo13_-_SM_after_separation.jpg 
Filename: apollo131.jpgSource: Three of the four Apollo 13 Flight Directors applaud the successful splashdown of the Command Module Odyssey while Dr. Robert R. Gilruth, Director, Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), and Dr. Christopher C. Kraft Jr., MSC Deputy Director, light up cigars (upper left). The Flight Directors are from left to right: Gerald D. Griffin, Eugene F. Kranz, and Glynn S. Lunney. Url: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mission_Control_celebrates_successful_splashdown_of_Apollo_13.jpg 
Filename: apollo132.jpgSource: The Apollo 13 Lunar Module "Aquarius" is jettisoned above the Earth after serving as a lifeboat for four days. It eventually reentered Earth's atmosphere over Fiji and burned up. Url: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apollo_13_Lunar_Module.jpg
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Apollo 13 was voted MORE AWESOME than:
 The Greatest Letter Ever Printed On An NFL Team Letterhead  Channel 4 News Team- From Anchorman  Special Olympics  Indian Thriller  Microscopic Photography  Snakes on a Plane  Ruth Stout  Mitch Hedberg  Knute Rockne Indian Thriller  The Tick  Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter  The Hong Kong Cavaliers  The Old Negro Space Program  Jeremy Bentham  Man makes own Iron Man Suit  Rick Estrin and the Nightcats  Ümläüts!  Word Lens  The Kenora Thistles Apollo 13 was voted LESS AWESOME than:  Babe Ruth
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          MICROSCOPIC PHOTOGRAPHY
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." - Marcel Proust. What is more awesome than seeing the world in ways you haven't seen it before? Than discovering beauty in places and scales you hadn't expected it previously. Microscopic photography is a tool by which we understand things around us, and a way of experiencing the familiar in unfamiliar ways. That's pretty awesome.
Nominated by Ivana B. Awesome
Image Credits
Filename: microphoto6.jpgSource: By Microbe World on Flickr cc Url: http://www.flickr.com/photos/microbeworld/4887719657/in/set-72157625392265538 
Filename: microphoto4.jpgSource: By Mukumbura on Flickr cc Url: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mukumbura/3607283738/ 
Filename: microphoto3.jpgSource: By EMSL on Flickr cc Url: http://www.flickr.com/photos/emsl/4578880707/ 
Filename: microphoto.jpgSource: B0007782 Lung cancer cells Credit: Anne Weston, LRI, CRUK. Wellcome Images images@wellcome.ac.uk images.wellcome.ac.uk Url: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wellcomeimages/5814252767/ 
Filename: microphoto8.jpgSource: By David J. Thomas on Flickr cc Url: http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidjthomas/4338849708/ 
Filename: microphoto7.jpgSource: By Pulmonary Pathology on Flickr cc Url: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pulmonary_pathology/5762463282/ 
Filename: microphoto2.jpgSource: By ressaure on Flickr cc Url: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ressaure/5661186533/ 
Filename: microphoto5.jpgSource: By Microbe World on Flickr cc Url: http://www.flickr.com/photos/microbeworld/5807837573/in/set-72157625392265538
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Microscopic Photography was voted MORE AWESOME than:
Babe Ruth Special Olympics Ruth Stout Mitch Hedberg  Epic Meal Time  Spaceman Spiff The Tick Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter The Hong Kong Cavaliers The Old Negro Space Program Jeremy Bentham Man makes own Iron Man Suit  Paul Erdős  Fire Cuts Ümläüts!  Children with Mohawks  Dancing Chicken Man  Bad Translations Microscopic Photography was voted LESS AWESOME than: Apollo 13 Paul Erdős
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This final is a bit disheartening to me :( I had kind of hoped to see Indian Thriller in there, just to take a break from all the appreciation of human accomplishments, and just revel in something silly.
reply high five6
I totally agree. But I was very pleased to see Indian Thriller make it as far as it did. Gave me some hope that the humorous side of awesome is not dead.
reply high five2
Sometimes awesome is just awesome *because* of the humor of it. The thing that made the Indian Thriller awesome was that it was made in complete seriousness. At the time, it was a blatant rip off (copyrights be damned, full dancing ahead!) and it has passed the test of time for those that love this sort of thing. It is awesome by complete accident, and it got all my votes because of it.
reply high five
My top three for the month were Erdos, Special Olympics, and Apollo 13, but I was soooo looking forward to voting for Indian Thriller for the win. :(
reply high five1
Apollo 13 is not the story of the Astronauts. Apollo 13's Awesome is found in the story of the teamwork that had to take place on Earth to return those brave men home. The very real possibility existed that those men may have died in space, and that their bodies would have ended up in orbit forever. A gruesome reminder of the dangers of space travel. But NO! Engineers on Earth came together without sleeping for days, developing techniques that previously did not exist to bring men back from the brink of death from as far away as humans have ever dared to go. Apollo 13 is AWESOME!!!
reply high five2
Walking on the moon = awesome. Apollo 13 did not equal walking on the moon. Ergo, I vote for Anchorman.
reply high five1
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