Arizona Tribune - US astronaut Jim Lovell, Apollo 13 commander, dead at 97

Lovell, who was played by actor Tom Hanks in the 1995 movie "Apollo 13," never made it to the lunar surface, but was considered one of the greats of the US lunar space program.

"NASA sends its condolences to the family of Capt. Jim Lovell, whose life and work inspired millions of people across the decades," the US space agency said in a statement, adding that the astronaut died on Thursday in a Chicago suburb.

Launched on April 11, 1970 -- nine months after Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon -- Apollo 13 was intended to be humanity's third lunar landing.

However, an oxygen tank exploded on the way there.

The disaster prompted Lovell's crewmate Jack Swigert to famously tell mission control: "Houston, we've had a problem."

Lovell then repeated the phrase, according to NASA.

A chaotic space odyssey ensued, during which the United States followed along on the ground, fearing losing its first astronauts in space.

But the leadership of Lovell, who was nicknamed "Smilin' Jim" by his fellow astronauts, to get his crew home safely to Earth earned him widespread praise.

Lovell'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," NASA said.

Lovell was also one of three astronauts who became the first people to orbit the Moon during the Apollo 8 mission in 1968, paving the way for a lunar landing, NASA said.

M.Robinson--AT