Biloxi Fred Haise statue and moonwalk undergoing updates; area to be renamed

BILOXI, Miss. (WXXV) — The Fred Haise statue and moonwalk mural at the Biloxi Lighthouse Pier are getting a refresh and soon, a new name.

At the end of June, the area surrounding Biloxi’s Fred Haise statue will officially be named Fred Haise Landing as a tribute to the Biloxi native and Apollo 13 astronaut.

“Fred Haise never got to walk on the moon. His mission was Apollo 13, and there was an incident, of course, so they never made it to the moon. They were lucky to make it back alive. So, this is his own personal moon walk, dedicated to him, so that he can walk on the moon,” said Lucinda L’Enfant, the original mural artist for the moonwalk.

Alongside the re-naming, restoration work on the 144-foot long moonwalk mural and statue are taking place, marking the first major public project by the Biloxi Beautification Commission.

L’Enfant originally painted the moon walk mural four years ago when the statue was placed. She is now spending the next few weeks updating it and making additions.

“I’m refreshing everything and trying to add a little bit more detail to our lunar surface. There’s several crater formations that are actually from the moon – from a lunar map. One is the Fra Mauro crater formation, and that is where Apollo 13 would have landed to gather material, moon rocks, and different things, so I added that,” she said.

The Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area is sponsoring the $5,000 project, which will also includes a new sign showcasing the area’s new name.

L’Enfant says above all, she’s just excited to be a part of such an exciting project, and welcome Haise back to the Coast for the dedication.

“The man is 92 years old. He doesn’t travel much anymore. He usually does zoom calls, so we’re really excited to see him come out for this,” she said. “I love that we’re bringing awareness that we had an astronaut from Biloxi. I think that’s really good, especially for younger people coming up. They can become something if they want to – if it’s an astronaut, or a doctor, or lawyer, whatever. I think that message is really important. That, yes, we had this person from Biloxi, they grew up and they became an astronaut. Well, they were a test pilot and then an astronaut, which is just… it’s awesome.”

The Fred Haise Landing and moonwalk dedication will take place on June 27th at 1 p.m. with Haise himself making an appearance.