Famed NASA astronaut Jim Lovell, who commanded the harrowing Apollo 13 mission that was forced to abandon a lunar landing attempt in 1970, has died. He was 97.
Lovell died on August 7 in Lake Forest, Illinois, according to a NASA news release. The cause of death was not immediately clear.
Lovell’s family requested privacy but said, “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,” in a statement.
“We are enormously proud of his amazing life and career accomplishments, highlighted by his legendary leadership in pioneering human space flight,” the family noted in its statement. “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.”
Lovell was already well-known among NASA astronauts — having flown to space on the Gemini 7, Gemini 12 and Apollo 8 missions — before he was selected to command Apollo 13, which would have marked NASA’s third successful crewed moon landing.
