''Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13'' (published in
paperback
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...
as ''Apollo 13''), is a 1994 non-fiction book by astronaut
Jim Lovell
James Arthur Lovell Jr. (; born March 25, 1928) is an American retired astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot and mechanical engineer. In 1968, as command module pilot of Apollo 8, he became, with Frank Borman and William Anders, one of th ...
and journalist
Jeffrey Kluger
Jeffrey Kluger (born 1954) is a senior writer at ''Time'' magazine and author of nine books on various topics, such as ''The Narcissist Next Door'' (2014); ''Splendid Solution: Jonas Salk and the Conquest of Polio'' (2005); ''The Sibling Effect' ...
, about the failed April 1970
Apollo 13
Apollo 13 (April 1117, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program and the third meant to land on the Moon. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the lunar landing was aborted aft ...
lunar landing mission which Lovell commanded. The book is the basis of the 1995 film adaptation ''
Apollo 13
Apollo 13 (April 1117, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program and the third meant to land on the Moon. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the lunar landing was aborted aft ...
'', directed by
Ron Howard
Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...
and starring
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
as Lovell.
Lovell was initially approached by Kluger in 1991 about collaborating on the book.
Fred Haise
Fred Wallace Haise Jr. ( ; born November 14, 1933) is an American former NASA astronaut, engineer, fighter pilot with the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force, and a test pilot. He is one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon, having f ...
was not interested in the collaboration, and
Jack Swigert
John Leonard Swigert Jr. (August 30, 1931 – December 27, 1982) was an American NASA astronaut, test pilot, mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer, United States Air Force pilot, and politician. In April 1970, as command module pilot of Apollo ...
had died of cancer in 1982.
Background
Apollo 13 was the third mission of the
Apollo program intended to land men on the Moon. An explosion of an onboard
liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen—abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries—is the liquid form of molecular oxygen. It was used as the oxidizer in the first liquid-fueled rocket invented in 1926 by Robert H. Goddard, an applica ...
tank in the Service Module, when the craft was close to reaching the Moon, crippled the electrical power generation and propulsion systems for the
Command Module ''Odyssey''. This necessitated the abort of the lunar landing, and placed the lives of astronauts Lovell,
Jack Swigert
John Leonard Swigert Jr. (August 30, 1931 – December 27, 1982) was an American NASA astronaut, test pilot, mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer, United States Air Force pilot, and politician. In April 1970, as command module pilot of Apollo ...
, and
Fred Haise
Fred Wallace Haise Jr. ( ; born November 14, 1933) is an American former NASA astronaut, engineer, fighter pilot with the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force, and a test pilot. He is one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon, having f ...
in serious jeopardy. The mission became famous for the safe return of the men, made possible by the
flight controller
Flight controllers are personnel who aid space flight by working in such Mission Control Centers as NASA's Mission Control Center or ESA's European Space Operations Centre. Flight controllers work at computer consoles and use telemetry to mon ...
s' resourceful adaptation of the electrical, propulsion, and life support systems of the
LM (Lunar Module) ''Aquarius'' as a "lifeboat".
Physical description
* Hardcover, 378 pages
* Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (T) (October 1994)
* Language: English
*
* Dimensions: 1.5 × 6.2 × 9.2 inches
See also
*
''The Right Stuff'' (1979 book) by Tom Wolfe, about the U.S. side of the Space Race
References
Bibliography
*
*
* {{Cite book, title=Apollo 13, language=Spanish, year=1995 , authors= James Lovell; Jeffrey Kluger , publisher=Barcelona Ediciones, isbn=84-406-5685-8, url=https://archive.org/details/apolo13textoimpr00love/mode/2up
1994 non-fiction books
Apollo program
American non-fiction books
Non-fiction books adapted into films
Houghton Mifflin books
Non-fiction novels
Apollo 13
Aviation books
Spaceflight books
Jim Lovell
Books by astronauts