Apollo 13 Commander Jim Lovell Passes Away; Genius Who Landed the Damaged Spacecraft Safely on Earth

 

Chicago: Jim Lovell, the commander of NASA's Apollo 13 space mission, has passed away. NASA announced that he died at the age of 97 in Chicago due to age-related illnesses. Jim Lovell was the astronaut who surprised the world by landing the Apollo 13 spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean after an oxygen cylinder exploded during the journey to the moon. Jim Lovell is also one of the most traveled space travelers.

Jim Lovell applied to NASA while still a captain in the US Navy. Lowell is best known for his role as the commander of the historic mission Apollo 13, which NASA sent on April 11, 1970, to land humans on the moon. The other crew members were Jack Swigert and Fred Heiss. Jim Lovell was 42 years old when Apollo 13 was launched.

However, the Apollo mission failed to land on the moon. An oxygen tank explosion 56 hours after launch put Apollo 13 in jeopardy halfway through its mission. The mission, which was in great danger, was saved from a major disaster by the determination of Jim Lovell and his team. Lovell safely landed the Apollo spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean on April 17, 1970. The splashdown of Apollo 13 was televised to the world. In addition to Apollo 13, Jim Lovell was also a member of the Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8, and Apollo 13 space missions.