posted 04-14-2005 10:05 AM               

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Now, the ex-astronaut [Lovell] is hoping another generation of space dreamers will be inspired -- this time by NASA memorabilia he is donating to the Adler to mark the lakefront institution's 75th year. The planetarium has commissioned a statue of Lovell and will become the new home of Lovell's Gemini 12 capsule.

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The tiny Gemini capsule Lovell shared with Edwin "Buzz'' Aldrin was launched in November 1966 and, after three days in space, plucked from the Atlantic. A little bigger than a Volkswagen Beetle, it has been in storage in Maryland and will be refurbished before being unveiled here, perhaps by September.

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