Apollo 8 and 13 astronaut Jim Lovell to speak at UK Center on Aging Foundation's annual fund-raising dinner April 7

Capt. Jim Lovell

Apollo 8 and 13 astronaut Jim Lovell will be the keynote speaker at the University of Kentucky Center on Aging Foundation annual dinner at the Lexington Center's Bluegrass Ballroom April 7. Proceeds from the event will support Alzheimer's disease research, education and clinical programs at the center.

Lovell, 87, is best known for his calm, careful command of his final space flight to the moon on Apollo 13 in 1970 when he reiterated those famous words, "Houston, we've had a problem." This happened after an explosion two days into the flight caused the mission to be aborted and Lovell and his crew had to convert their lunar module "Aquarius" into a lifeboat to get home safely.

Lovell was the pilot on Gemini 7, which involved the first manned spacecraft rendezvous; commander of Gemini 12; and command module pilot of Apollo 8, the first manned mission to orbit the moon. Lovell and his two crewmates gave humans their first long-range view of our planet and read a passage from the creation story in Genesis on Christmas Eve.

Individual tickets to the event are $175 and table sponsorships start at $1,500. For more information contact the foundation office at 859-323-5374 or click here for more information.