Astronaut

Biloxi, Mississippi, United States

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A bronze statue of Biloxi native and Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise, shown in his spacesuit holding his helmet, stands in the Lighthouse Park parking area south of the Biloxi Lighthouse on Highway 90. It was unveiled on 13 February 2022 and is described in city and press accounts as eight to nine feet tall. Sculptor Mary Ott Tremmel Davidson, also from Biloxi, made it over two years. In June 2026 the city dedicated the surrounding area as Fred Haise Landing.

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Astronaut

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Approximate location · 30.394° N, 88.895° W

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The story

Fred Haise flew on Apollo 13, and his home town of Biloxi has put him in bronze beside the Gulf.

The statue shows Haise smiling in his astronaut suit, holding his space helmet. It is by Biloxi sculptor Mary Ott Tremmel Davidson, who the Jackson Free Press says finished it over two years. The city called it an eight-foot statue when announcing the unveiling and a nine-foot statue in a later release. It stands in the Lighthouse Park parking lot south of the Biloxi Lighthouse on Highway 90, and WLOX reported that it faces north. The site was rebuilt with 180 parking spaces, and the Moonwalk, Lucinda Lenfant's mural of the lunar surface including the Fra Mauro landing area, was restored in 2026, according to the city and WLOX.

The unveiling was first planned for April 2020, the 50th anniversary of Apollo 13, but was cancelled by COVID, the Jackson Free Press reported. The city unveiled it instead on Sunday, 13 February 2022. WLOX counted about 500 people, said Haise was escorted to the site by parade, and reported that he set his handprint in front of the base. The city credited Mississippi Power and Visit Mississippi with major support for the initiative, and Seymour Engineering with technical assistance.

NASA says Haise flew on the aborted Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970, spending 142 hours and 54 minutes in space before returning safely to Earth.

On 27 June 2026 the city named the surrounding area Fred Haise Landing, WLOX reported, with about 200 people attending at the Biloxi Visitors Center. The same report says a councilman announced that a stretch of Highway 90 from Porter Avenue to Kuhn Street will be called the Astronaut Fred Haise Highway.

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