WASHINGTON – NASA’s senior leadership Thursday noted with sorrow the passing of Joan Roosa of Gulfport, Miss., the wife of Apollo 14 astronaut Stuart Roosa. Roosa passed away Oct. 30.
“We wish to express our sincere condolences to the Roosa family,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale, Headquarters, Washington. “Many current and former NASA family members were very close to both Stuart and Joan Roosa and remember her fondly. We at NASA certainly appreciate the dedication of all our astronaut spouses, which Joan Roosa exemplified.”
A native of Tupelo, Miss., Joan met her future husband at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Va., in 1956. They married the following year, and had four children: Christopher, Jack, Alan and Rosemary. Stuart Roosa, who was the Apollo 14 command module pilot, passed away in 1994.
Joan Roosa played an active role in her husband’s career, encouraging him to apply for the astronaut corps. On Feb. 9, 2006, the 35th anniversary of Apollo 14’s successful return from the moon, Roosa represented her late husband when NASA honored him as one of its Ambassadors of Exploration. At the ceremony, the Roosa family presented a lunar sample obtained during the Apollo 14 mission for permanent display at the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in Florida.
