Apollo 13 Moon Mission Leader James Lovell Dies At 97

James Lovell, the commander of Apollo 13 who helped turn a failed moon mission into a triumph of on-the-fly engineering, has died at the age of 97.

Lovell and fellow astronauts Fred Haise and Jack Swigert received renewed fame with the retelling of the Apollo 13 mission in the 1995 movie Apollo 13. (Photo: NASA)

Lovell died Thursday in Lake Forest, Illinois, NASA said in a statement on Friday, Don Babwin reported for the Associated Press (AP).

“Jim’s character and steadfast courage helped our nation reach the Moon and turned a potential tragedy into a success from which we learned an enormous amount,” NASA said.

“We mourn his passing even as we celebrate his achievements.”

One of NASA’s most traveled astronauts, Lovell flew four times — Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8, and Apollo 13 — with the two Apollo flights captivating people back on Earth.

Lovell and fellow astronauts Fred Haise and Jack Swigert received renewed fame with the retelling of the Apollo 13 mission in the 1995 movie Apollo 13, where actor Tom Hanks — portraying Lovell — famously said, “Houston, we have a problem.”

In 1968, the Apollo 8 crew of Lovell, Frank Borman, and William Anders became the first to leave Earth’s orbit and the first to fly to and circle the Moon.

Lovell was also the first to wear his Alpha Phi Omega fraternity pin in his spacesuit.

They could not land, but they put the United States ahead of the Soviets in the space race.

Letter writers told the crew that their stunning “pale blue dot” photo of Earth from the Moon, a world first, and their Christmas Eve reading from Genesis helped lift America’s spirits during the tumultuous year of 1968.

But the big rescue mission was still to come — during the harrowing Apollo 13 flight in 1970.

Lovell was supposed to be the fifth man to walk on the Moon, but Apollo 13’s service module, carrying Lovell and two others, experienced a sudden oxygen tank explosion on its way to the Moon.

The astronauts barely survived, spending four cold and damp days in the cramped lunar module as a lifeboat.

“The thing that I want most people to remember is that in some sense it was very much a success,” Lovell said during a 1994 interview.

“Not that we accomplished anything, but a success in that we demonstrated the capability of [NASA] personnel.”

A retired Navy captain known for his calm demeanor, Lovell told a NASA historian that his brush with death affected him.