Astronaut Jim Lovell, commander of Apollo 13, dies at 97

Astronaut Jim Lovell, commander of Apollo 13, dies at 97
by Allen Cone
Washington DC (UPI) Aug 8, 2025

Astronaut Jim Lovell, commander of the Apollo 13 mission to the moon, died Thursday in Illinois, his family announced. He was 97.

Lovell also flew on three other missions: Gemini 7, Gemini 12 and Apollo 8 in the 1960s, and was the first astronaut to go into space that many times.

He died in Lake Forest, a northern Chicago suburb.

"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," his family said in a statement Friday.

"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," the statement read.

"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."

In a statement, "NASA sends its condolences to the family of Capt. Jim Lovell, whose life and work inspired millions of people across the decades. 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.

"From a pair of pioneering Gemini missions to the successes of Apollo, Jim helped our nation forge a historic path in space that carries us forward to upcoming Artemis missions to the moon and beyond."

Lovell was on the three-man crew in 1970 that was scheduled to become the third group to walk on the moon. But on April 13, about 56 hours into the flight and 200,000 miles from Earth, something went wrong.

Lovell was played by Tom Hanks in the 1995 movie: Apollo 13, which dramatically captures the events that could have turned tragic.

Hanks posted a tribute on Instagram, writing: "There are people who dare, who dream, and who lead others to the places we would not go on our own. Jim Lovell, who for a long while had gone farther into space and for longer than any other person of our planet, was that kind of guy."

In the film, the famous line was said by Hanks: "Houston we have a problem."

Command Module Pilot Jack Swigert actually first said: "OK, Houston, we've had a problem here."

Jack Lousma, the capsule commander in Houston, asked Swigert to repeat himself.

Lovell responded: "Ah, Houston, we've had a problem."

One of the two oxygen tanks on the Service Module exploded, causing the spacecraft to lose electrical power in the Command Module in which the astronauts were riding. Available oxygen was being depleted.

Lovell, Swigert and Fred W. Haise went into the Lunar Module designed for only two people and had to deal with shortages of power, water and breathable air in cold conditions.

Rather than landing on the moon, they orbited it, using gravity to go back to Earth on April 17.

"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," Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy said. "We mourn his passing even as we celebrate his achievements."

Two years earlier, Lovell, Frank Borman and William "Bill" Anders were the first to circle the moon, on Apollo 8.

"As the Command Module Pilot for Apollo 8, Jim and his crewmates became the first to lift off on a Saturn V rocket and orbit the moon, proving that the lunar landing was within our reach," NASA said.

On Christmas Eve 1968, the astronauts read verses from the Book of Genesis. Lovell's passage included: "And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."

Borman finished by saying: "And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you -- all of you on the good Earth."

Lovell and Borman were aboard the 14-day Gemini 7 mission in December 2025 that served as a rendezvous target for Gemini 6A.

On Gemini 12 in November 1966, he was paired for four days with Buzz Aldrin, who became the second man to walk on the moon in July 1969.

It was the final crewed Gemini mission, which included venturing out of the spacecraft.

Lovell held the record for time in space at 715 hours, 5 minutes until Skylab flights surpassed him.

"Known for his wit, this unforgettable astronaut was nicknamed Smilin' Jim by his fellow astronauts because he was quick with a grin when he had a particularly funny comeback," NASA said.

He retired on March 1, 1973, from the Navy and NASA to join Bay-Houston Towing, according to his NASA biographical information. He later became president of Fisk Telephone Systems in Houston and an executive with Centel Corp.

"Jim also served our country in the military, and the Navy has lost a proud academy graduate and test pilot," NASA said in its news release." Jim Lovell embodied the bold resolve and optimism of both past and future explorers, and we will remember him always."

Lovell attended the University of Wisconsin and entered the U.S. Naval Academy in 1948.

During his Naval career, he was an active-duty aviator stationed aboard aircraft carriers from 1958 to 1962, logging more than 7,000 hours of flying time, including more than 3,500 in jets.

He was selected as an astronaut in 1962, the second NASA class. It was known as the Next Nine behind the first class of seven astronauts.

Lovell was born on March 25, 1928, in Cleveland. His wife, Marilyn, died in 2023. They had four children.

He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1970, was inducted into the U.S. Astronauts Hall of Fame in 1993 and enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1998.