NASA honors Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise Jr.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden (left) presents the Ambassador of Exploration Award (an encased moon rock) to Biloxi native and Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise Jr. (right) for his contributions to space exploration. During a Dec. 2 ceremony at Gorenflo elementary School in Biloxi, Miss., Bolden praised Haise for his overall space career and his performance on the Apollo 13 mission that was crippled two days after launch. Haise and fellow crewmembers nursed the spacecraft on a perilous trip back to Earth. 'The historic Apollo 13 mission was as dramatic as any Hollywood production,' Bolden said. 'When an explosion crippled his command module, Fred and his crewmates, Jim Lovell and Jack Swigert, guided their spacecraft around the moon and back to a successful splashdown in the Pacific Ocean - all while the world held its breath. While Fred didn't have the chance to walk on the moon, the cool courage and concentration in the face of crisis is among NASA's most enduring legacies.'