Apollo 13 captain, Jim Lovell, dies aged 97

NASA astronaut Jim Lovell who commanded America's Apollo 13 mission in 1970, has died at 97, according to official sources.

By Emma Ajayi

Known for commanding the space mission that circumvented the moon for the first time, astronaut Jim Lovell died this Thursday, according to family sources.

"We are saddened to announce the passing of our beloved father, USN Captain James A. “Jim” Lovell, a Navy pilot and officer, astronaut, leader, and space explorer. He was 97." They wrote in a statement.

"We are enormously proud of his amazing life and career accomplishments, highlighted by his legendary leadership in pioneering human space flight. But, to all of us, he was Dad, Granddad, and the Leader of our family. Most importantly, he was our Hero. We will miss his unshakeable optimism, his sense of humor, and the way he made each of us feel we could do the impossible. He was truly one of a kind.”

Born in 1928 as James Arthur Lovell, the late astronaut joined NASA in 1962, at age 34. Since joining, he served in NASA's project Gemini, starting in 1965 it aimed to keep humans in space. In 1966, the Gemini project closed with the Gemini 12, which Lovell commanded with pilot Edwin Aldrin.

Lovell later continued his aeronautical journey in the Apollo space missions. In December 1968, Lovell was the Commanding pilot and navigator of the Apollo 8 mission, which was the first time an aircraft was lifted into near-earth orbit with men inside. Lovell would make history one of the first people to leave Earth's gravitational influence along with his colleagues, Frank Borman and William Anders.

The Apollo 13 mission in 1970 was his fourth mission as spacecraft commander where he achieved becoming the first person to journey to the moon twice. He was also the back-up commander to Neil Armstrong, first man to walk on the moon, in the Apollo 11 moon landing mission.

Originally set to take place in 10 days, the Apollo 13 mission was changed as a result of a failure that occurred in the cryogenic oxygen system. Lovell, together with fellow crew members John Swigert and Fred Haise were forced to make an emergency landing operation in collaboration with the Houston ground controllers. They managed to successfully lunar module systems in order to preserve enough water and electric power for their return back to Earth. The incident brought widespread public attention in the Apollo program once again, including from then-president Nixon.

Tom Hanks, who starred as Lovell in the 1995 two time Oscar-winning movie titled "Apollo 13" has expressed his condolences to the Lovell family in a heartfelt message posted on Instagram.

"On this night of a full moon, he passes on - to the heavens, to the cosmos, to the stars. God speed you on this next voyage, Jim Lovell".

Lovell attended the University of Wisconsin and Harvard business school and several honors and awards during his lifetime inlcuding NASA's Distinguished Service medal as well as the American Astronautical Society Flight achievement awards, which he was a co-recipient of.

In 1973, the astronaut left the space program to enter the corporate field, becoming the president of a telecommunications company called Fisk Communications in 1977, and the eventual CEO of a maritime company called the Bay-Houston Towing company in 1991.

He has also had a career in the navy, where he held various assignments as an aviator.

He married his wife Marilyn Gerlach in 1952, who passed away in 2023. Together, they had four children, eleven grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren, whom they leave behind.