R.I.P. Jim Lovell

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Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell dead at 97

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 it was “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.

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 the third successful crewed moon landing for NASA.

Lovell was the first astronaut to make four spaceflights, totaling more than 715 hours in space. He was part of NASA’s second-ever astronaut class, selected in September 1962 and nicknamed the “New Nine.” And joining the Apollo 13 crew after having first served on Apollo 8, which intentionally circumnavigated the moon but did not land on its surface, made Lovell the first human ever to see the moon up close for a second time.

“Twice a bridesmaid, never a bride,” Lovell said with a laugh when speaking to CNN in 2008 for the 40th anniversary of Apollo 8, admitting that for years he harbored resentment his last mission had been a “failure.”

It was only later on that Lovell said he fully realized what a success Apollo 13 had been, with the safe return of the crew to Earth.

“It is mind-boggling in some respects,” Lovell told CNN.