Happy birthday, Gemini and Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell!

Jim Lovell, born March 25, 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio, made two flights in NASA's Gemini program and two in the Apollo program, including the Apollo 13 mission.  He was the first person to go into space four times, is one of twenty-four people to fly to the moon, and one of three people to fly to the moon twice, although he did not make a landing.

His first mission was pilot on Gemini VII with Command Pilot Frank Borman in December 1965, and they spent 14 days in orbit.

His second flight was as Commander of Gemini XII with pilot Buzz Aldrin in November 1966. They performed three EVAs and conducted the fourth space docking with the Agena target vehicle, proving men could work outside a spacecraft, which paved the way for sending men to the moon.

His third flight was on Apollo 8 as Command Module Pilot with Frank Borman and William Anders in December 1968.  It was the second manned mission of the Apollo program and the first to leave Earth's orbit, reach the moon, orbit it and then return safely to Earth.

Lovell's fourth and final flight was as Commander aboard Apollo 13, with Jack Swigert and Fred Haise in April 1970.  The disaster that occurred during the mission has been immortalized in the movie Apollo 13.  Tom Hanks portrayed Jim Lovell in the movie.  Lovell is the one who uttered the famous phrase:  "Houston, we've had a problem."

Apollo 11, first manned mission to land on the moon, launched 1969

Apollo 11 crew (L-R): Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin

The first manned mission to land on the moon, Apollo 11, was launched July 6, 1969, with Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.  The lunar lander Eagle touched down on the surface, July 20, when Armstrong broadcasted his famous line "The Eagle has landed!"  While he and Buzz Aldrin spent just under a day on the moon, Collins orbited alone in the Columbia, the lunar orbiter.

They returned to Earth July 24.

Happy birthday, Buzz Aldrin!

Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin, born January 20, 1930, was the second man to walk on the moon, following Neil Armstrong July 21, 1969 during the Apollo 11 mission.  A Presbyterian, Aldrin held communion on the surface of the moon, but it wasn't broadcast since there was a suit against NASA brought on by an atheist against the reading of Genesis by Apollo 8.

Aldrin retired from NASA in 1970.

Gemini XII launches 1966

James Lovell and Buzz Aldrin blasted off in Gemini XII November 11, 1966, the final mission of the Gemini project.  Aldrin performed three EVA's, proving that a person could work effectively outside the spacecraft.  The success of  the mission paved the way for the Apollo mission.

And they got to observe a solar eclipse from space.  How cool is that!?

"The Eagle Has Landed" July 20, 1969

Apollo XI Crew: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin

I remember watching this on television at a friend's house while the events unfolded.  While Michael Collins circled the moon in the lunar orbiter, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men ever to walk on the moon.  Neil stepped onto the surface about 11am ET (they hadn't established lunar time yet) proclaiming in a speech that was not plagiarized, "That is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."  Twenty minutes later, Aldrin joined him on the moon.  Their total EVA was about 2 1/2 hours taking samples of the lunar surface and conducting experiments.  After almost 22 hours on the moon, Aldrin and Armstrong took off to rendezvous with Collins.  They splashed down July 24.

Happy birthday, Buzz Aldrin!

Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr., born this day in 1930, was the second man to walk on the moon, after Neil Armstrong July 21, 1969.  In recent years, he's appeared on "The Big Bang Theory" and has been a proponent of a manned mission to Mars.