"Houston, we have a problem" - Jim Lovell, Apollo 13 & Apollo 8 astronaut passes

James Lovell, astronaut and Apollo 13 commander, dies

Jim Lovell commanded Apollo 13, the only Apollo mission scheduled to land on the Moon which did not. Lovell and his fellow astronauts, and the ground crew, overcame incredible odds in bringing the damaged spacecraft of Apollo 13 home to Earth.

Apollo 13 commander James Lovell has died at age 97.

Lovell was one of NASA’s most experienced astronauts, flying four missions: Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8, and the ill-fated Apollo 13.

CHICAGO - Apollo 13 commander James Lovell, who helped turn a failed moon mission into a triumph of on-the-fly engineering, has died. He was 97 years old.

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Lovell died Thursday in Lake Forest, Illinois, NASA confirmed in a statement on Friday.

Astronaut James Lovell dies

What they're saying:

"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."

James Lovell’s legacy

Dig deeper:

One of NASA's most traveled astronauts in the agency's first decade, Lovell flew four times — Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8 and Apollo 13 — with the two Apollo flights riveting the folks back on Earth.

Three of the crew members of Apollo 13 (left to right), Fred Haise, Jim Lovell, and Ken Mattingly. Because of a cold, Mattingly could not go on the mission, which narrowly avoided tragedy when its spacecraft malfunctioned. and had to return to Earth

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In 1968, the Apollo 8 crew of Lovell, Frank Borman and William Anders was the first to leave Earth's orbit and the first to fly to and circle the moon. They could not land, but they put the U.S. ahead of the Soviets in the space race.

During the harrowing Apollo 13 flight in April 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 clammy 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 of 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.''

The popular 1995 movie "Apollo 13" brought Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert renewed fame — thanks in part to Lovell's movie persona reporting "Houston, we have a problem."

Until the Skylab flights of the mid-1970s, he held the world record for the longest time in space with 715 hours, 4 minutes and 57 seconds.

What they're saying:

The loss of the opportunity to walk on the moon "is my one regret," Lovell said in a 1995 interview with The Associated Press for a story on the 25th anniversary of the mission.

President Bill Clinton agreed when he awarded Lovell the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1995. "While you may have lost the moon ... you gained something that is far more important perhaps: the abiding respect and gratitude of the American people," he said.

Lovell and his family ran a now-closed restaurant in suburban Chicago, Lovell's of Lake Forest. His wife, Marilynn, died in 2023. Survivors include four children.

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