Astronaut Jim Lovell and NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz were thousands of miles apart when they famously guided Apollo 13 back from the edge of disaster in 1970.

Kranz	Lovell

But on Feb. 3, 2007, the aviation pioneers will share the stage and the microphone as guest speakers at the Purdue Ag Alumni Fish Fry.

The annual event in the Blue Ribbon Pavilion at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis will start at 11:30 a.m.

Lovell was the flight commander of Apollo 13, the third manned mission to the moon on April 13, 1970, when an explosion aboard the service module caused him to utter the famous words, "Houston, we have a problem."

Back on the ground at NASA's mission control in Houston, Kranz led the team that safely directed Lovell, Fred Haise and John Swigert back to earth on April 17.

The episode was made into a 1995 movie starring Tom Hanks as Lovell and Ed Harris as Kranz.

"The resolve and ingenuity that Lovell and Kranz employed to successfully complete the Apollo 13 mission made them real American heroes. We are honored to have them as our speakers," says Donya Lester, executive secretary of the Ag Alumni Association.

Tickets are $20. Tables of 10 are also available by contacting the Ag Alumni office, Pfendler Hall of Agriculture, Room 107, 715 W. State St., West Lafayette, IN 47907-2061, (765) 494-8593, or e-mail office manager Debby Bible at debby@purdue.edu.