Last Thursday, former NASA astronaut Jim Lovell passed away at the age of 97. Mr. Lovell was one of the first astronauts to orbit the Moon in Apollo 8, and he also commanded the Apollo 13 mission around the Moon under great stress after the onboard explosion of an oxygen canister. While the crew was unable to complete its mission by landing on the Moon, he was able to safely bring his crew back to Earth.
In commenting on the Apollo 13 mission, Mr. Lovell later said ““It was plagued by bad omens and bad luck from the very beginning.” Even so, he was part of a long tradition of trial and error as the U.S. stretched itself and eventually ferried men and supplies to the lunar surface. The deaths of three astronauts in the Apollo 1 capsule had shown the world that a mission to the Moon was a dangerous gamble.
Mr. Lovell took his chances and we are all the better for it. He also stated:
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.
He made things happen.
You can read more on Mr. Lovell’s life and career at these sites:
Rest in peace.
Our Awesome Universe 