Washington - Saba:
NASA announced on Friday the death of American astronaut Jim Lovell, commander of the famous Apollo 13 mission to the moon, who miraculously survived a disaster following a breathtaking rescue operation. He was 97.
NASA's statement said that the former Navy pilot, who became a prominent figure in space history, died Thursday in Illinois.
The US space agency noted that "his life and work have inspired millions of people over the decades," praising his "unwavering character and courage."
It is worth noting that Jim Lovell participated in two missions to the moon but never walked on its surface. However, the American made history by participating in one of the most famous space missions during the Cold War moon race.
The Apollo 13 mission, commanded by Jim Lovell and featuring astronauts Fred Haise and Jack Swigert, launched on April 11, 1970, nine months after Neil Armstrong's historic first steps on the moon.
The mission could have gone unnoticed, but the opposite happened when an oxygen tank exploded during the flight.
This horrific incident gave rise to the famous phrase "Houston, we have a problem," uttered by the astronauts at NASA's command center in Texas.
America, which at the time considered such missions routine, found itself thrust directly into an unprecedented tragedy as three men faced the threat of being trapped in space forever.
Thanks to Jim Lovell's fortitude and NASA's professionalism and ingenuity, the three men miraculously survived and returned safely to Earth by transforming the lunar module into a lifeboat.
Jim Lovell was born on March 25, 1928, in Cleveland, Ohio. He served as a Navy pilot before joining NASA.
He was one of the first astronauts to orbit the moon and observed "Earthrise," a name derived from the famous December 1968 photograph of the blue planet emerging from the darkness of space.
"He was our hero," his family said in a statement released by NASA. "We will miss his unwavering optimism, his sense of humor, and his way of making each of us feel we could achieve the impossible."
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