James Lovell (1928- ) Astronaut. Lovell was the commander of the Apollo 13 mission, which suffered a critical failure en route to the Moon. He was also the command module pilot of Apollo 8, the first Apollo mission to enter lunar orbit. He is one of only twenty-four people to have flown to the Moon, the first of only three people to fly to the Moon twice. His book, Apollo 13, with Jeffrey Kluger, 30th Anniversary edition, Houghton Miffin Company, 2000, first edition, signed on a bookplate which is affixed on the blank page facing the first title page.