Houston, we have a problem

== English == === Etymology === A misquotation of the phrases “Houston, we’ve had a problem here” and “Houston, we’ve had a problem” said by the American astronauts Jim Lovell (1928–2025) and Jack Swigert (1931–1982), who were crew members of the Apollo 13 moon flight, to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas, on April 13, 1970, after an oxygen tank triggered an explosion which led to the mission being aborted. The phrase in the form “Houston, we have a problem” was popularized by the film Apollo 13 (1995). The American screenwriter William Broyles Jr. (born 1944) altered the original phrases as he felt that “[t]he past perfect tense wasn’t as dramatic”. However, the phrase has been used earlier, for example, as the title of a 1974 television movie about the Apollo 13 mission. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈh(j)uːst(ə)n ˌwiː hæv ə ˈpɹɒbləm/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˈ(h)justən ˌwi hæv ə ˈpɹɑbləm/ Hyphenation: Hous‧ton, we have a prob‧lem === Phrase === Houston, we have a problem (US, humorous) Used to report that a (major) problem has occurred. ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === Houston, we have a problem on Wikipedia.Wikipedia Gary Martin (1997–), “Houston, we have a problem”, in The Phrase Finder.