The American astronaut Jim Lovell, commander of the famous Lunar Mission Apollo 13, who had failed to turn to a disaster in 1970 after an explosion in flight, died at the age of 97, NASA announced on Friday.
“NASA presents its condolences to the family of Captain Jim Lovell, whose life and work inspired millions of people over the decades,” the space agency said in a press release, welcoming its “character and its unshakable courage” having allowed the United States “to reach the Moon”.
“Houston, we have a problem”
The American, who never walked on the Moon, has remained one of the big names in the American lunar program, world known for having pronounced the famous “Houston, we have a problem”.
Embodied on the big screen by Tom Hanks in the eponymous blockbuster “Apollo 13” released in 1995, his composure during this chaotic space odyssey earned him a large recognition.
Explosion in full flight
Launched on April 11, 1970, nine months after the first historic steps of Neil Amstrong on the Moon, the mission piloted by Jim Lovell alongside the astronauts Fred Haise and Jack Swigert had to land on the star.
>> The account of the Chronicle The Archive of the Day on April 13, 2023:
But an explosion that occurred in full flight, causing an oxygen leak, has turned these plans upside down. “Houston, we have a problem,” Jim Lovell said laconically at the NASA control center.
America, which already considered these flights as a routine, was then projected live in an unprecedented tragedy, three men risking staying forever in space. Thanks to the composure of the commander and the NASA, the trio had happily got out, managing to come back safe and except to earth.
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