Former NASA astronaut James Lovell passed away in the United States at the age of 98. He flew into space four times, including twice to the Moon.
James Lovell was born on March 25, 1928, in Cleveland, Ohio. After graduating from high school, he entered the Naval Academy and went on to serve as a fighter pilot and then a test pilot.
In 1962, Lovell was selected for NASA’s second group of astronauts. His first flight into space took place in 1965 as the pilot of the Gemini 7 mission. A year later, Lovell commanded the Gemini 12 mission.
Lovell’s next assignment was the Apollo 8 expedition, which was launched at the end of 1968. As part of this program, a spacecraft carrying humans left Earth’s vicinity for the first time in history and entered orbit around the Moon. In total, Apollo 8 completed ten orbits around the Moon. During one of them, the astronauts took the famous photograph of Earth rising above the lunar surface.
The highlight of Lovell’s career was the Apollo 13 mission, for which he was appointed commander. It was supposed to land in the Fra Mauro crater area. However, during the flight, a serious accident occurred, making it impossible to land on the Moon and putting the crew on the brink of death. Thanks to the coordinated efforts of the astronauts and NASA, the damaged Apollo 13 managed to reach Earth and its crew returned home safely. Lovell was one of three people who flew to the Moon twice and the only one who never landed on it.
In 1973, Lowell left NASA and went to work in the private sector. He also contributed to the book Lost Moon, which was adapted into the 1995 film Apollo 13, starring Tom Hanks as the astronaut. Lovella can be seen at the end of the film. He played the captain shaking hands with Tom Hanks on the deck of the aircraft carrier.
After Lovell’s death, five of the twenty-four astronauts who flew to the Moon under the Apollo program remained alive. Four of them landed on its surface, while another observed it from orbit. The youngest of the Apollo astronauts is 89 years old.
