Apollo 13 Astronaut Jim Lovell Passes Away

Retired NASA astronaut Jim Lovell passed away yesterday at the age of 97. He will be long remembered as commander of Apollo 13, the historic 1970 mission to the Moon that instead of ending in catastrophe, became a testament to the ingenuity and resilience of the crew and their colleagues back on Earth who were determined to prove that “failure is not an option.”

After graduating from the Naval Academy and serving as a Naval aviator, Lovell was selected into NASA’s second group of astronauts in September 1962 along with Neil Amstrong, Frank Borman, Pete Conrad, Jim McDivitt, Elliott See, Tom Stafford, Ed White, and John Young.

Lovell’s first spaceflight was Gemini VII, a 14-day mission with Borman in 1965, the longest spaceflight at that time. Next was Gemini XII in 1966, the last in the Gemini series. Lovell and Buzz Aldrin (class of 1963) spent four days docked to an Agena Target Vehicle conducting experiments that included several spacewalks by Aldrin.

Lovell’s third flight was the history-making Apollo 8 mission. Lovell, Borman and Bill Anders (class of 1963) became the first human beings to orbit the Moon on Christmas Eve 1968, reading from the Bible as a message to their fellow humans back on Earth.

They also sent back the iconic “Earthrise” photo taken by Anders as the spacecraft came out from behind the Moon with Earth in the center of their view.

Lovell got a second chance to go to the Moon in 1970, this time to land. The Apollo 13 mission was intended to be the third human lunar landing after Apollo 11 and Apollo 12.  He was Commander of the mission, joined by Fred Haise as Lunar Module Pilot and Jack Swigert as Command Module Pilot, both from the class of 1966. Swigert was a last minute substitution for Ken Mattingly who had been exposed to measles.

The riveting story of what happened to Apollo 13 over the next six days as the crew battled for their lives after an oxygen tank in the Service Module exploded has been told compellingly in many books and the Tom Hanks movie Apollo 13. Lovell and Haise tell the story from a first hand perspective in a 2020 NASA video for Apollo 13’s 50th anniversary (Swigert died in 1982). The video also features Gene Kranz, the mission flight director in Houston who became famous for the phrase “failure is not an option” after actor Ed Harris, portraying Kranz, spoke those words in the Apollo 13 movie.

Lovell retired from the Navy and NASA after Apollo 13 and began a career in industry at Bay-Houston Towing Company, Fisk Telephone Systems, Business Communications Systems, a Centel Corporation, and Lowell Communications.

In a statement today, Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy 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.”

Lovell and his wife Marilyn were married for 71 years until her passing in 2023 and had four children. NASA shared a statement from the Lovell family.

“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. He was 97.

“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. 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.

“Our family asks for privacy during this difficult time.”

Buzz Aldrin posted on X that he was “grieving the loss of one of my best friends.”

Grieving the loss of one of my best friends, Jim Lovell. His extraordinary legacy is cemented by many space missions: Gemini VII, Gemini XII, Apollo 8 and Apollo 13.

Our mutual respect had no limits. The Gemini XII mission we flew together paved the way for the Apollo… pic.twitter.com/xjddchSJK6

— Dr. Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) August 8, 2025