In Apollo 13, what problem is reported to Mission Control?

In Apollo 13, the problem is reported with the line, “Houston, we have a problem.”

Tom Hanks says the words as astronaut Jim Lovell after an oxygen-tank explosion damages the spacecraft during the Apollo 13 mission. The film dramatizes NASA’s effort to bring the crew safely back to Earth despite the loss of critical systems.

Ron Howard directed the 1995 film, which is based on the 1994 book Lost Moon by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger. Kevin Bacon and Bill Paxton portray fellow astronauts Jack Swigert and Fred Haise, while Ed Harris plays flight director Gene Kranz.

The real mission’s wording was slightly different: Swigert said, “Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here,” and Lovell then repeated, “Houston, we've had a problem.” The film’s present-tense version became the famous quotation.