James A. Lovell

Jim Lovell was a veteran of the Gemini VII, Gemini XII, and Apollo 8 missions before becoming the Mission Commander for the nearly disastrous Apollo 13 mission to the Moon.

Quick Facts

Lovell joined NASA in 1962 as part of its second group of astronauts.

Lovell’s first space flight was Gemini 7.

During Lovell’s four missions he logged 715 hours in space, a record that stood until surpassed by Skylab crew members in 1973.

Lovell’s Apollo 13 crew included John L. “Jack” Swigert Jr. and Fred W. Haise Jr.

Lovell has logged more than 7,000 hours in a variety of aircraft, including 3,500 hours in high-performance jets.

A statement from the family of Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell on his passing:

“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.”

Official NASA Astronaut portrait of James A. Lovell — S69-62241 (1969) — Astronaut James A. Lovell.
NASA

Apollo 13 Astronauts safely on the deck of an US Navy ship after returning from their Apollo 13 mission. — This photograph shows Apollo 13 astronauts Fred Haise, John Swigert, and James Lovell aboard the recovery ship, USS Iwo Jima after safely touching down in the Pacific Ocean at the end of their ill-fated mission. The mission was aborted after 56 hours of flight, 205,000 miles from Earth, when an oxygen tank in the service module exploded. The command module, Odyssey, brought the three astronauts back home safely.

Apollo 8 Crew Training — (1 Nov. 1968) — The Apollo 8 prime crew is seen inside the gondola during centrifuge training in MSC’s Flight Acceleration Facility, Building 29. Left to right, are astronauts William A. Anders, lunar module pilot, James A. Lovell Jr., command module pilot; and Frank Borman, commander. Photo credit: NASA
NASA

Lovell selfie with Aldrin - November 11, 1966 — Jim Lovell and Buzz Aldrin in the capsule of Gemini XII

Biography

James A. Lovell

Learn more about Astronaut James A. Lovell, including when he was selected by NASA to be an astronaut, his flight experience, education, background and more.

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Astronaut Jim Lovell during training in his EVA suit

All Crewed Missions

Gemini VII

Gemini 7 was the fourth crewed Earth-orbiting spacecraft of the Gemini series, having been launched before Gemini 6A.

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Dec 18, 1965 08:58 UTC

All Crewed Missions

Gemini XII

Gemini XII was the tenth and final crewed flight of the Gemini program, flown by astronauts James A. Lovell Jr. and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. It featured three extravehicular…

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Nov 15, 1966 12:25 UTC

All Crewed Missions

Apollo 8

Apollo 8 'Round the moon and back…" The mission objectives for Apollo 8 included a coordinated performance of the crew, the command and service module, or CSM, and the support…

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Dec 27, 1968 12:27 UTC

All Crewed Missions

Apollo 13

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Oral History with James Lovell

Astronaut James A. Lovell Jr., participating in classroom work

May 25, 1999

Learn more about Jim Lovell's experiences in this transcript from a May 25, 1999 interview undertaken as part of the Johnson Space Center Oral History Project.