As the crew began preparing for Monday’s flyby, they listened to a message that legendary astronaut Jim Lovell recorded before he died.
Lovell, who died last August at 97, orbited the moon with Apollo 8 in 1968 and commanded the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission.
“Hello, Artemis II! This is Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell. Welcome to my old neighborhood!” Lovell said in the recording, which flight controllers in Houston beamed up to Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen shortly after they woke up.
“When Frank Borman, Bill Anders, and I orbited the Moon on Apollo 8, we got humanity’s first up-close look at the Moon and got a view of the home planet that inspired and united people around the world,” Lovell said. “I’m proud to pass that torch on to you — as you swing around the Moon and lay the groundwork for missions to Mars … for the benefit of all.”
Lovell said he knew they would be busy today but reminded them “to enjoy the view.”
“So, Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy, and all the great teams supporting you – good luck and Godspeed from all of us here on the good Earth,” he said.
Wiseman replied, “That was an awesome message from Jim Lovell. Very cool to hear him welcoming us to the neighborhood. It’s going to be a great day.”
The spacecraft communicator Amy Dill in mission control said, “That gave me chills, definitely one of my heroes.”
