LAKE FOREST, ILLINOIS: US astronaut Jim Lovell, the legendary commander of NASA’s ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, died Friday at the age of 97, NASA announced. The cause of death was not disclosed.
A trailblazer in human spaceflight, Lovell was the first astronaut to fly four missions — Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8, and Apollo 13 — logging over 715 hours in space. Apollo 8’s lunar orbit made him the first person to see the Moon up close twice.
Lovell’s calm leadership defined Apollo 13 in April 1970, when an oxygen tank explosion 200,000 miles from Earth crippled the spacecraft. Abandoning the lunar landing, Lovell and crewmates John Swigert Jr. and Fred Haise Jr. executed a daring loop around the Moon to return home. The mission was later dubbed a “successful failure” for its safe outcome and lessons learned.
The drama inspired Ron Howard’s 1995 film Apollo 13, with Lovell’s understated transmission — “Houston, we’ve had a problem” — becoming part of spaceflight history.
Lovell’s family called him “our Hero” and remembered him as a Navy captain, astronaut, and devoted patriarch. Acting NASA chief Sean Duffy praised his “calm strength under pressure” and his enduring impact on future missions.
