Jim Lovell

Date of Birth: March 25, 1928

Zodiac Sign: Aries

Biography

James “Jim” Arthur Lovell Jr. is an American retired astronaut, naval aviator, and mechanical engineer who is best known as the commander of the Apollo 13 mission. Born on March 25, 1928, in Cleveland, Ohio, Lovell attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison before transferring to the United States Naval Academy, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1952. He then entered the Naval Aviation Cadet Program, eventually becoming a test pilot. Lovell’s NASA career began in 1962 when he was selected as one of the second group of astronauts. He flew on Gemini 7 in 1965, Gemini 12 in 1966, and Apollo 8 in 1968, the first manned mission to orbit the moon. His most famous mission, Apollo 13, took place in 1970, where he and his crew safely returned to Earth after an oxygen tank explosion aborted their mission to land on the moon. Lovell retired from NASA and the Navy in 1973, later pursuing a career in business.

5 Interesting Facts about Jim Lovell

1. Jim Lovell was the first person to fly to the moon twice but never walked on its surface.

2. He logged over 715 hours in space during his career.

3. Lovell co-authored the book “Lost Moon,” which was adapted into the 1995 film “Apollo 13,” starring Tom Hanks as Lovell.

4. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1970.

5. Lovell was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1993.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from Jim Lovell

1. “Houston, we have a problem.”

2. “There are people who make things happen, there are people who watch things happen, and there are people who wonder what happened. To be successful, you need to be a person who makes things happen.”

3. “The moon is essentially gray, no color. It looks like plaster of Paris, like dirty beach sand with lots of footprints in it.”

4. “There are three types of people in this world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened.”

5. “We had to make a choice: We could either come home or we could go to the moon. We chose to come home.”