In the Shadow of the Moon (2007)

Jim Lovell: Self

Quotes 

• Jim Lovell : One day, under secret orders, a group of us at the test pilot center were ordered to go to Washington, to get a briefing. And they talked about the Atlas booster, and putting a capsule on top of that, with a man in it, to try to put a man in space. And of course at that time, the Atlas boosters were blowing up every other day down at Cape Canaveral. And it looked like a very, you know, a good way to have a short career.

• Jim Lovell : We changed our plans on Apollo 8. They changed the mission from an Earth orbital type to a flight to the Moon. And it was a bold move. It had some risky aspects to it. But it was a time when we made bold moves.

• Jim Lovell : [discussing the Apollo 13 accident]  We were in serious trouble.

  John Young : I thought, when I saw that oxygen system leaking down, I figured we'd lost them. I really did. I didn't think we'd make it.

• Jim Lovell : [discussing the Apollo 13 accident]  It was a case of survival. And certainly landing on the Moon and surviving to see the next sunrise, it's two different things. And it wasn't until I got comfortably back on Earth, that I became very much disappointed in not making a landing on the Moon.

• Jim Lovell : [about the Apollo 13 accident]  We were as calm as could be. We didn't panic. If we did, we'd still be up there.

• Jim Lovell : We learned a lot about the Moon, but what we really learned was about the Earth. The fact that just from the distance of the Moon, you can put your thumb up, and you can hide the Earth behind your thumb. Everything that you have ever known, your loved ones, your business, the problems of the Earth itself, all behind your thumb. And how insignificant we really all are. But then how fortunate we are to have this body, and to be able to enjoy living here amongst the beauty of the Earth itself.