Astronaut Jim Lovell, who led Apollo 13 moon mission, dies age 97

For all his astronomical accomplishments, it is the failed Apollo 13 mission for which James 'Jim' Lovell will always be remembered by, as ITV News Reporter Ian Woods reports.

Jim Lovell, commander of the 1970 Apollo 13 mission, has died at the age of 97.

The astronaut helped turn the failed moon landing into triumph by getting back to Earth safely after an oxygen tank exploded.

Nasa confirmed Lovell died on Thursday in Lake Forest, Illinois.

In a statement on Friday, the space agency said: “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.”

Loevll was part of the Apollo 8 crew, the first to circle the moon. Credit: AP

One of Nasa's most traveled astronauts in the agency's first decade, Lovell flew four times on Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8 and Apollo 13.

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 US ahead of the Soviets in the space race.

Two years later, Lovell would face his toughest mission, in April 1970 when Apollo 13's service module carrying Lovell and two others experienced a sudden oxygen tank explosion.

Lovell's mission to become the fifth man to walk on the moon, soon became a rescue mission.

The astronauts barely survived as they turned the module around and headed back to Earth spending four cold and clammy days in the cramped luna capsule.

''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.''

A retired Navy captain known for his calm demeanor, Lovell told a Nasa historian that his brush with death did affect him.

Jim Lovell held the world record for the longest time in space with 715 hours, 4 minutes and 57 seconds until the mid-1970s. Credit: AP

“I don't worry about crises any longer,” he said in 1999. Whenever he has a problem, “I say, ‘I could have been gone back in 1970. I'm still here. I'm still breathing.' So, I don't worry about crises.”

And the mission's retelling in the popular 1995 movie “Apollo 13” brought Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert renewed fame, thanks in part to Lovell's movie persona, played by film star Tom Hanks, reporting "Houston, we have a problem."

Lovell recalled the oxygen tank exploding was “the most frightening moment in this whole thing.” Then oxygen began escaping and “we didn't have solutions to get home.”

“We knew we were in deep, deep trouble,” he told Nasa's historian.

Four-fifths of the way to the moon, Nasa scrapped the mission. Suddenly, their only goal was to survive.

Jim Lovell received his award in the Oval Office with President Bill Clinton and actor Tom Hanks. Credit: AP

Lovell's "Houston, we've had a problem," a variation of a comment Swigert had radioed moments before, became famous. In Hanks' version, it became "Houston, we have a problem."

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

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.

In all, Lovell flew four space missions — and 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.

Aboard Apollo 8, Lovell described the oceans and land masses of Earth. "What I keep imagining, is if I am some lonely traveler from another planet, what I would think about the Earth at this altitude, whether I think it would be inhabited or not," he remarked.

In a statement, his family hailed him as their “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,” his family said. “He was truly one of a kind.”

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