Jim Lovell
| Jim Lovell | |
| Born | March 25, 1928, Cleveland, Ohio |
|---|---|
| Died | August 7, 2025 |
| Nationality | American |
| Category | Astronaut |
| Roles | Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8, Apollo 13 astronaut |
| Notable claim | Described a “brilliant body in the sun… with trillions of particles” on Gemini 7 |
| Status | Historical |
| Historical | |
James Arthur Lovell Jr. (1928–2025) was a Navy test pilot who flew four missions: Gemini 7 and Gemini 12, Apollo 8 (the first lunar orbit) and Apollo 13, whose safe return after an oxygen-tank explosion made him world famous. He died in August 2025 at 97.[1]
On Gemini 7 in December 1965 he described “a brilliant body in the sun against a black background with trillions of particles on it,” alongside commander Frank Borman’s “bogey” report, in records released in PURSUE Release 01.[2]
Assessment
The observation is generally explained as the crew’s own Titan II upper stage and debris. A widely circulated “transcript” in which Lovell supposedly says “Houston, be informed there is a Santa Claus” has been misused as a UFO code; it actually comes from Apollo 8 on Christmas Day 1968, when the crew left lunar orbit.
See also
Further reading
- Jim Lovell & Jeffrey Kluger (1994). Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13 (Amazon)
References
- ^ NASA biographical data, James A. Lovell Jr.; New Mexico Museum of Space History obituary, August 2025.
- ^ U.S. Department of War (2026). PURSUE Release 01, NASA-UAP-D003.