Legendary American Astronaut Lovell Passes Away, Commanded the Famous Apollo 13 Mission

The United States space agency (NASA) announced that astronaut Lovell, who served as the commander for the Apollo 13 lunar orbit mission, passed away on the 7th at the age of 97.

In a statement on the 8th, NASA said Jim Lovell died the previous day in Lake Forest, Illinois. "Jim's character and courage helped our nation get closer to the Moon. He also turned a potential tragedy into a success, from which we have all benefited greatly."

In 1970, Lovell turned around what was originally a "certain death" situation during the Apollo 13 spaceflight explosion incident, returning safely to Earth with two other astronauts, becoming a legendary hero.

Apollo 13 was the third lunar landing mission in the U.S. Apollo program, launched on April 11, 1970. The three astronauts responsible for this mission were Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise.

The first two days of the mission proceeded smoothly, but on the third day, an exposed wire in the command module's oxygen tank in pure oxygen sparked an explosion, severely damaging the spacecraft. After seeing a warning light, Swigert informed mission control: "Houston, we’ve had a problem here."

This classic line was later spoken by Hollywood star Tom Hanks, who played Lovell in the movie "Apollo 13," and adapted into the now-famous film quote: "Houston, we have a problem."

Due to the danger to the power supply, the three astronauts abandoned the command module and went to the lunar module, hoping to use it as a lifeboat to return to Earth. To conserve energy, they had to endure near-freezing temperatures and face shortages of drinking water and food. Three days later, through everyone's efforts, they changed course, circled the moon once, and returned to Earth, safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on April 17, 1970.

Looking back to 1968, during the Cold War and the space race between the U.S. and Soviet Union, the U.S. launched Apollo 8 to lunar orbit—the first spacecraft in human history to escape Earth's gravity and reach lunar orbit. Lovell, together with astronauts Frank Borman and William Anders, orbited the Moon 10 times at an altitude of 70 miles and captured the classic “Earthrise” photo.

This flight paved the way for the famous Apollo 11 mission in 1969, when astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin made the first landing on the Moon.

Lovell flew to space four times and flew to the Moon twice, becoming the first person in history to "go twice to the Moon but never land"; acting NASA Administrator Duffy praised him for “blazing a historic trail” for the U.S. space program.

Now with Lovell's passing, it marks the end of an era. His family stated, “We will miss his steadfast optimism, sense of humor, and his way of making everyone feel they could accomplish the impossible. He truly was one of a kind.”

Lovell was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1928, attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the U.S. Naval Academy, and became a NASA astronaut in 1962.