Apollo 13
Jim Lovell was an American astronaut on multiple Gemini and Apollo missions. Among his accomplishments was his piloting of the Apollo 8 mission, which was the first time a crewed spacecraft left the Earth's gravitational field and orbited the moon. He is perhaps most famous for his command of the Apollo 13 mission, in which an explosion occurred putting the lives of all three crew members in jeopardy. Apollo 13 safely returned to Earth with the survival of all crew members. Lovell co-authored the book "Lost Moon," which recounts the events of the Apollo 13 mission. The book was the basis of the 1995 film "Apollo 13", in which Jim Lovell was played by actor Tom Hanks. Lovell was the recipient of multiple awards in his lifetime, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
