On the anniversary of Apollo 13

On April 13, 1970, the three man crew of the Apollo 13 mission to the moon encountered an unprecedented event - the rupture of an oxygen tank that damaged the spacecraft and led the crew and the team on the ground to race to find a way to bring the crippled craft back to earth. The incredible story has been chronicled in book and in Ron Howard's excellent 1995 film, Apollo 13.

It's a fascinating story and an amazing testament to what it meant to America to win the race to space. So I was most honored last night to attend the 40th anniversary celebration for the Apollo 13 mission and its crew last night at the Adler Planetarium. In attendance were the two surviving members of the crew, Jim Lovell and Fred Haise, along with several members of Mission Control.
Lovell, Sweigert, and Haise - the crew of Apollo 13

There were other astronauts there including Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon. What an incredibly exclusive club he is in! Imagine my delight when I learned I would be sitting with him at dinner. He's a very private, quiet man but could not have been nicer. I was simply in awe of him, realizing that he had walked on the moon, and the first one to do it, to boot.

As I spoke with Mr. Armstrong and saw these other astronauts and crew, who are now all in the late 70s and 80s, I couldn't help but wonder what the future of space exploration is for our nation. Are we equipped now to do what they did then? It was fascinating to hear each of them recount what they experienced during that mission and how they kept their cool and were so focused on making this NASA's "most successful failure."

What they did 40 years ago was a spectacular success. I was honored to be there last night. It was a night to remember. I know I'm going to be watching "Apollo 13" this weekend. So should you.