NASA plans to honor late astronaut Swigert

WASHINGTON, May 20 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency says it plans to honor the late U.S. astronaut John Swigert Jr. with the presentation of an Ambassador of Exploration Award.

During Friday's ceremony with Apollo 13 spacecraft commander James Lovell, Swigert's sister, Virginia, will accept the award and present it for display to the Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum in Denver.

The award presentation will highlight the opening of the museum's new exhibit honoring Colorado's astronauts.

NASA is giving Ambassador of Exploration Awards to the first generation of explorers in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs for realizing America's goal of going to the moon. The space agency said the award is a moon rock encased in Lucite and mounted for public display. The moon rock is part of the 842 pounds of lunar samples collected during the six Apollo expeditions from 1969 to 1972.

Swigert, born in Denver, graduated with a science degree from the University of Colorado in 1953. He was the command module pilot for the Apollo 13 mission.

The astronaut was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 1982 but died of bone cancer the following month before taking office.