Apollo 13 fans can line up Monday for tickets to see the man behind the famous plea, "Houston, we have a problem."

Capt. James Lovell will speak at 8 p.m. Jan. 25 in Eisenhower Auditorium as the third guest in this year's Distinguished Speaker Series (DSS).

"We have not had a science speaker in a few years, so we felt that Lovell could fill a gap in the series while still bringing a broad appeal, because he has such an interesting story," DSS chair Leah Weiser (senior-international politics) said.

Lovell was a naval aviator and test pilot before being chosen for the Gemini mission program and later the Apollo space program. He was one of the first humans to leave Earth's gravitational force and also served as backup commander to Neil Armstrong on the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission.

His name became recognizable worldwide in 1970 when the oxygen system on Apollo 13 failed, but the crew returned safely. A major motion picture, in which Tom Hanks plays the part of Lovell, and a novel titled Lost Moon have been created to depict the Apollo 13 mission.

Weiser expects Lovell will generate interest not only from Penn State students, but from the State College community as well.

"It is such a great experience to see someone with such a different life," Weiser said.

The committee expects a large turnout because of the popular movie created about the Apollo 13 mission.

"Especially with the college generation, a lot more people are familiar with his character played by Tom Hanks in the movie, so that will help draw a good crowd," DSS committee member Ed Rowe said.

The committee does not provide guidelines or specifics to the speakers concerning their topics, so the committee can only speculate about the event.

DSS adviser Judy Albin said Lovell's contract states that he will open the event with a video clip showing one of his experiences in space.

"I think whatever he has to share should be pretty inspiring," Rowe said. "He has done things that most of us can only dream of doing and has some scary stories as well."

The first two events in the 2005-2006 speaker series, featuring James Earl Jones and Cal Ripken Jr., respectively, were both sold out days before the events, Albin said.

"If you really want to see Lovell speak and can not get tickets in advance, come on the night of the event, because a lot of people get tickets and do not show up," she said.

Albin said she expects a different audience than for the two speakers of the fall semester.

"James Earl Jones was a famous actor, and Cal Ripken Jr. was an athlete, so this will definitely draw a different group of folks. I expect to see those with aerospace engineering interests and, of course, fans of the movie," Albin said.

Stephanie Fiorenza (sophomore-astrophysics) is planning to get tickets on Monday.

"I think he would have interesting things to say about he saw in space and on the moon, which is especially important to me as an astrophysics major," she said.

Poonam Giri (junior - geoscience) said she also plans to attend.

"I saw the movie a long time ago, and I read about him online before," she said. "He is a really important person so I want to hear anecdotes about Apollo 13 and about his experiences."

Tickets will be distributed Monday to University Park students with a valid ID only. Tuesday, the sale will open to faculty and staff, and the general public will be eligible for tickets on Wednesday.

Tickets are available at the Eisenhower Auditorium box office, HUB-Robeson Center and Downtown Theater Center. Two free tickets will be given to each person on a first-come, first-serve basis. Ticket sales will continue until the event is sold out.