From Apollo to Artemis: Gerry Griffin on past and future Moon missions

Gerry Griffin, who was in Paris to deliver a lecture at the Festival Explor'Espace, recounted some of the most memorable moments during his stint as a flight director for the Apollo program. 

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NASA's new moon rocket lifts off from Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral on Nov. 16, 2022. AP - John Raoux

'Houston, we have a problem' is unarguably one of the most famous movie quotes ever. In real life, these words were uttered by the Apollo 13 astronaut Jack Swigert to NASA's mission control following the oxygen tank explosion on the ill-fated spacecraft.

Griffin who was one of the four flight directors for Apollo 13, recounted his sense of shock in mission control after hearing the message. He also explained why the mission was dubbed a successful failure despite the astronauts nebver landing on the Moon.

Speaking about other memorable moments during his stint, Griffin said the Apollo 8 and Apollo 11 missions were huge achievements. 

Griffin also shared his thoughts on the upcoming Artemis mission.