James Lovell “Lost Moon: The Perilous Journey of Apollo 13”

James Lovell, who passed away August 7, 2025 at age 97, was one of the most accomplished American astronauts in history. His career spanned from the Gemini Program all the way to the moon with the Apollo missions. 

After graduation from the US Naval Academy, Lovell went on to become a Naval Aviator and test pilot. He applied for the NASA astronaut program and was accepted into the ranks of future astronauts, although he retained his US Navy commitment during his time with NASA. 

Lovell first ventured into space on Gemini 7 with Frank Boreman as commander, and spent from December 4 to December 18, 1965 in orbit. At that time their 330 hours 35 minutes in space was the longest time any human had spent in orbit. During this mission they also rendezvoused with Gemini 6A and maneuvered in orbit as practice for the Apollo missions.  

Lovell commanded Gemini 12, and along with ‘Buzz’ Aldrin, preformed another docking maneuver along with a space walk for Aldrin.

From 21 to 27 December 1967, Lovell served as command module pilot and navigator of Apollo 8, which  journeyed around the moon in preparation for the actual landing of Apollo 11, and took the famous “Earth Rise” picture of the earth rising over the moon. After this mission the crew of Apollo 8 was voted Time Magazine’s “Men of the Year”.

Launching on April 11, 1970, Apollo 11 was Lovell’s last mission. Along with a Jack Swigert and Fred Haise, the first 54 hours of the mission went smoothly, until they conducted a routine cryogenic oxygen tank stir. Damaged wiring caused a spark and an explosion occurred which caused a loss of electrical power and oxygen. This is when Lovell uttered the famous words “Ah, Houston, we’ve had a problem”. Their mission quickly changed from moon landing to a rescue mission in an attempt to get the crew of Apollo 13 home safely. Using the LM (Lunar Module) as a lifeboat, they were able to return to earth on April 13. Watch the fantastic movie ‘Apollo 13” to see the story. Jim Lovell makes a cameo appearance in the end of the movie when he greets Tom Hanks on the carrier deck after the crew has been recovered. This fantastic book “Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13” served as the basis for that great Tom Hanks movie.

Although the Apollo 13 mission is what he is most remembered for, Lovell believe Apollo 8 to be the high point of manned space flight at that time, and the high point of his career. He was one of the first people to orbit the moon and was truly a great American. 

In this book I chose to show Lovell’s portrait preparing for the Apollo 13 launch, and the “Earth Rise” photograph taken on his Apollo 8 mission.

A Certificate of Authenticity is included. 

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