"From the Moon, our Earth is a grand oasis that requires constant protection from environmental problems" -- James and Marilyn Lovell

Welcome to the "JMLC"

As one of the first three human beings to travel around the moon on Apollo 8, Captain James Lovell with fellow astronauts Borman and Anders, looked back towards Earth and took a photograph that, for the first time, showed all of humanity how fragile our planet appears when seen against the blackness of space.

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                                                                                "Earthrise", Christmas Eve, 1968

(Click the icon, below to hear a Wave file of the three astronauts reading from the Book of Genesis as they pass over the Moon.)

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Image courtesy of "Image Science & Analysis Laboratory" at NASA Johnson Space Center; The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth; (http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=AS10&roll=27&frame=3895).
Audio clip courtesy of NASA at http://history.nasa.gov/40thann/videos.htm.

 

Years later, aboard Apollo 13 with astronauts Swigert and Haise, Captain Lovell again captured the world’s attention as he and his crewmates worked doggedly to bring their crippled spacecraft safely back to Earth. Enduring the agonizing wait on the ground, Marilyn Lovell maintained her belief that somehow her husband and the hundreds of NASA personnel working on the problem would find a way to bring Apollo safely home.

(Click the icon, below to hear an MP3 recording of the famous, "Houston, we've had a problem" transmission.)

Audio clip courtesy of jamglue at http://www.jamglue.com/tracks/12234-Apollo-13-Houston-We-ve-had-a-Problem.

Mission Control during the Apollo 13 oxygen cell failure.

The damaged Apollo Service
Module as seen from the Lunar/Command Modules.

Mission Control celebrating Apollo 13's splashdown and the crew's safe recovery.

Images courtesy of NASA (http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/mirrors/images/html/as13.htm; numbers 8500, 34986, 35145, respectively); audio source, the Project Apollo Archive at http://www.apolloarchive.com/;MP3 mastering by Kipp Teague.

 

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James and Marilyn Lovell

The James and Marilyn Lovell Center for Environmental Geography and Hazards Research (JMLC) pays homage to the principle that many minds working together can find imaginative solutions to the challenges facing our fragile planet.

Located within Texas State University-San Marcos' Department of Geography (one of the largest such departments in the United States), the JMLC provides a focal point around which its scholars can gather to share ideas and mentor students. Faculty Scholars seek to better understand Earth’s environment, to analyze and reduce the impacts of natural and technological hazards, and through their work to improve policies directed toward Earth's environment and its hazards.

Through its annual Distinguished Lecturer series, the JMLC brings outstanding speakers from a variety of disciplines to campus to engage and energize students, faculty, and the general public. The Center also publishes Occasional Papers, offers meeting space, provides opportunities for collegiality by coordinating talks by faculty, students, and outside speakers, and seeks funding to support the research activities of Faculty Scholars and Student Affiliates.

                                                                                                                                                                                                   Pamela S. Showalter, Director



For more information, visit the links above or contact us at the address listed below.