James Lovell, who was the commander of the 1970 Apollo 13 mission, has died at the age of 97.
The astronaut, also known as ‘Jim Lovell’, helped turn the failed moon landing into triumph by getting back to Earth safely after an oxygen tank explosion.
Nasa confirmed Lovell died on Thursday in Lake Forest, Illinois.
In a statement on Friday, NASA said: “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."
"We mourn his passing even as we celebrate his achievements.”
One of NASA’s most traveled astronauts in the agency’s first decade, Lovell flew four times on Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8 and Apollo 13.
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