Apollo 13’s comarator, the American astronaut Jim Lovell, died

The American astronaut Jim Lovell, commander of the famous Lunar Mission Apollo 13, who had narrowly escaped the disaster and held the world in suspense, died at the age of 97, NASA announced on Friday.

This former Navy pilot. However, which has become an emblematic figure in space history, died Thursday in Illinois, the American space agency said in a statement.

His “life and [son] work inspired millions of people over the decades, “insisted NASA, welcoming its” unwavering character and courage “.

“There are people who dare, dream and who lead others to places where they would not go alone. For example, Jim Lovell […] was part of it. ”reacted the famous actor Tom Hanks, who embodied the astronaut at the cinema, in a message on Instagram.

The American had made the journey to the moon twice but had never worked on apollo 13’s comarator, american astronaut the star. However. he remained one of the big names in American history thanks to his participation in one of the most legendary space odyssey, in the middle of the Moon race during the Cold War.

Launched on April 11. 1970, nine months after the first historic steps of Neil Amstrong on the Moon, the Apollo 13 mission commanded by Jim Lovell, and in which astronauts Fred Haise and Jack Swigert participated, could have passed under radars.

But that was without counting the explosion of an oxygen tank that occurred in full flight.

Perilous rescue – Apollo 13's comarator, american astronaut

From this spectacular misadventure comes the famous phrase “Houston. we have a problem”, launched by astronauts at the NASA command center in Texas.

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 Jim Lovell’s composure as well as the professionalism. the ingenuity apollo 13’s comarator, american astronaut of NASA, the trio had miraculously came out, succeeding in returning safely on Earth by transforming the lunar module into a rescue canoe.

A perilous operation. broadcast by televisions around the world, and which was then adapted to the cinema by Hollywood in the eponymous blockbuster “Apollo 13” released in 1995, in which Tom Hanks embodies Jim Lovell.

This epic, which earned the astronaut a medal of honor, however cost him his lunar dream.

He who should have set foot on the star during the Apollo 13 mission. in what would have been the third time that men would have walked the lunar soil, has never left in space again.

A small crater of the star was however appointed in his honor in 1970 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

Born on March 25, 1928 in Cleveland in Ohio, Jim Lovell had led a pilot career at the Navy before joining NASA.

He was one apollo 13’s comarator, american astronaut of the first astronauts to fly in orbit around the moon. observe an “earth rise”, named after the famous shot captured in December 1968 and showing the blue planet standing out from the darkness of space.

“He was our hero. His unshakable optimism. his sense of humor and his way of giving us everyone the feeling that we could accomplish the impossible we will miss, “reacted members of their family in a press release shared by NASA.

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