Every Apollo mission included three members: a Commander, a Command Module Pilot, and a Lunar Module Pilot. Each crew member would have specific roles throughout the mission. The Commander would oversee the main operations of the Apollo mission to and from the moon and command the surface portion of the mission. The Command Module Pilot, or CMP, would focus solely on monitoring and controlling the Command/Service Module, the crew’s main habitat and protection during all portions of the mission. The Lunar Module Pilot, or LMP, would focus on operating the Lunar Module during the moon landing and participating in the surface mission with the Commander. Each crewmember would be carefully selected by NASA to ensure that every mission operated at peak efficiency.
The Astronauts
James “Jim” Lovell (Mission Commander)
Born: March 25, 1928, in Cleveland, Ohio
Educated at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and later the United States Naval Academy, Lovell served in the United States Navy as a Naval Aviator and Test Pilot prior to his NASA career. After joining NASA in 1962, he flew on three spaceflights prior to Apollo 13, including Apollo 8, the first mission to orbit the moon.
Today, he is currently the oldest living astronaut at 96 years old.
Fun fact: Jim Lovell was selected to be an astronaut with a group called “The Next Nine.” This group of nine astronauts included Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin (1st astronauts to land on the moon), Ed White (1st American to “walk” in space), and John Young (commander of the 1st space shuttle flight).
Photo Credit: NASA Human Space Flight Gallery, Wikimedia Commons.
Fred Haise (Lunar Module Pilot)
Born: November 14, 1933, in Biloxi, Mississippi
Educated at Perkinston Junior College and the University of Oklahoma, Haise served in the United States Marine Corps and Air Force from 1954-1963 and was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1966. Apollo 13 would be his first and only spaceflight.
After Apollo 13, he participated in glide tests of the Space Shuttle, in order to prepare it for spaceflight.
After leaving NASA, he would continue to fly as a test pilot for Grumman Aerospace, before retiring to Houston, Texas, where he continues to live to this day.
Photo Credit: NASA, Wikimedia Commons.
John “Jack” Swigert (Command Module Pilot)
Born: August 30, 1931, in Denver, Colorado
Died: December 27, 1982, in Washington, DC
Educated at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Swigert served in the United States Air Force for twelve years prior to joining NASA alongside fellow astronaut Fred Haise in 1966. Like Haise, he had no prior spaceflight experience to Apollo 13 and would also never fly again.
After Apollo 13, he would earn his master’s in business administration from the University of Hartford. In 1982, he ran for and was elected to the United States House of Representatives, but died from bone marrow cancer prior to taking office.
Photo Credit: NASA, Wikimedia Commons.
Apollo 13 in Context 