Last Thursday, August 7th, we lost one of our most famous astronauts. James Lovell, Jr. died in Lake Forest, IL at the age of 97 and thus ends his tenure as the oldest living astronaut. Lovell was in line to be one of the original seven Mercury astronauts chosen in 1959, but a test result came back outside the acceptable range and Lovell was dismissed form the selection process. Several years later, in 1962, he was accepted in the second group of astronauts to be chosen, call the “Next Nine.” It really wasn’t such a glorious name for those Americans who were going to be flying the Gemini and Apollo missions, eventually to the moon.
Commander Lovell married Marilyn, who he had met in high school and they travelled from place to place as his career unfolded. Many of the other well known astronauts were friends of the Lowell’s, including John Young, Wally Schirra and Deke Slayton.
The Gemini program (meaning two – was named after the mythological twins, Pollux and Castor, after whom the brightest stars are named)) was comprised of a number of missions with two astronauts in the capsule instead of just one as in the Mercury program. The purpose of the program was to conduct EVA’s (spacewalks) and to go through a docking process with two spacecraft, a move that would be necessary in order for us to successfully navigate flight to the moon.
Jim’s first space assignment, other than part of a back-up crew, was on Gemini 7 with Frank Borman. The purpose of this mission was to see how longer flights affected health. His next flight was Gemini 12; his fellow astronaut was Buzz Aldrin, another famous pilot, and Lovell’s first command.
Ultimately, Jim Lovell was chosen to fly with Frank Borman and Bill Anders on Apollo 8, launched on December 18, 1968 – a flight designed to circumnavigate the moon without landing. They returned safely and you may remember their Christmas Eve reading of the Genesis 1 as they were orbiting the moon. I remember that remarkable evening to this day. Think of it, American astronauts reading the creation story from a capsule 293,000 miles away as they were flying through space.
Lovell’s fourth, and final, mission was Apollo 13. On his fourth space flight, and second to the moon, he was the commander and was one of two astronauts onboard who was scheduled to land on the moon. However, an oxygen tank explosion shortened the mission, causing a cancellation in the lunar surface part of the flight. In a remarkable act of bravery and imagination, Lovell, as well as his companions Fred Haise and Jack Swigert, returned home in a cold spacecraft, with minimal battery power, overcoming all kinds of obstacles. They became unlikely national heroes in the process.
In fact, the entire experience was highlighted in the movie Apollo 13, directed by Ron Howard and featuring Tom Hanks as Astronaut Lovell. Jim Lovell is the only astronaut who has been to the moon twice and has never set foot on the lunar surface. Undoubtedly, he was sadly disappointed.
In any event, Lovell captured the hearts of Americans for his unwavering dedication to the country through his military service and his commitment to the space program. Throughout his career, he received too many honors to mention, among them the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. He had several post NASA positions, finally retiring in 1991. His wife, Marilyn, passed away in 2023 from natural causes at the age of 93.
Jim Lovell was a Protestant, a Methodist, as was Frank Borman, another astronaut present on Apollo 8. His faith was clearly in display as he read the Scripture from space on Christmas Eve, 1968. Lovell was also the astronaut who remarked that he could extend his arm and cover the earth from view with his thumb. It made him realize how small the earth really is in the context of space. Many think this small act increased his faith and belief in the Creator.
Our verse for tonight is a simple one. It’s one of the first verses that were read from space that quiet Christmas Eve from the orbit of the moon. Moses, the author of Genesis, tells us in Genesis 1:1-2, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God hovered upon the face of the waters.”
My encouragement this evening is that we are all a part of God’s miraculous creation, We are blessed to have American heroes such as James Lovell, Jr. who spent their lives reaching for the stars and helping us to have a better understanding of God’s creation. My prayer is that Capt. Lovell will rest in peace with his wife, Marilyn, and that he has already received his crown from God upon his arrival in heaven. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…