James Arthur Lovell Jr., known for commanding the Apollo 13 mission and being among the first humans to orbit the Moon, died on August 7, 2025, at the age of 97 in Lake Forest, Illinois.
A statement from the family confirmed Lovell’s death, highlighting his roles as a Navy pilot, officer, astronaut, and leader. They expressed pride in his contributions to human spaceflight, while emphasizing his importance as a family leader.
Born on March 25, 1928, in Cleveland, Ohio, Lovell spent much of his youth in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His interest in aviation was sparked by Charles Lindbergh’s 1927 flight and stories from an uncle in the Navy. Following his father’s death when Lovell was five, he lived with his mother in Milwaukee.
Lovell attended the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, from 1948 to 1952. After graduating, he married Marilyn Lillie Gerlach, his high school sweetheart from Juneau High School in Milwaukee. Their marriage lasted 71 years until Marilyn passed away on August 27, 2023, at 93.
Beginning his career as a naval aviator, Lovell later became a test pilot before joining NASA in 1962 as part of its second astronaut group. He logged over 7,000 flight hours, including 3,500 hours in high-performance jets.
Lovell’s space missions started with Gemini 7 in 1965, followed by his role as command pilot of Gemini 12 in November 1966. In 1968, he was the command module pilot of Apollo 8, becoming one of the first three astronauts to orbit the Moon. During this mission, he named a mountain Mount Marilyn after his wife, a name officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union in 2017.
Lovell is perhaps best known for leading the Apollo 13 mission in April 1970. The mission, intended for a Moon landing, turned into a survival challenge when an oxygen tank exploded about 205,000 miles from Earth on April 13.
Following the explosion, crew member John “Jack” Swigert Jr. reported, “Okay, Houston, we’ve had a problem here,” which led the crew to abandon the lunar landing. Lovell realized the severity of the situation upon seeing oxygen leaking from the spacecraft.
After 142 hours and 54 minutes in space, the crew safely returned to Earth, landing in the South Pacific Ocean near the USS Iwo Jima on April 17, 1970. President Richard Nixon awarded Lovell, Swigert, Fred Haise Jr., and the Mission Operations Team the Presidential Medal of Freedom the next day.
Lovell accumulated 715 hours in space over his four missions, a record until Skylab missions in 1973. He described Apollo 13 as “a failure in its initial mission” but “a tremendous success in the ability of people to get together.”
Lovell retired from NASA and the Navy on March 1, 1973. He later held executive positions in towing and telecommunications companies, retiring from the private sector in 1991. He co-authored “Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13” with Jeffrey Kluge, which inspired the 1995 film “Apollo 13.”
The film, directed by Ron Howard and featuring Tom Hanks as Lovell, introduced his story to a new audience. Lovell made a cameo as the captain of the USS Iwo Jima in the movie. The line “Houston, we have a problem” was adapted from the actual transmission.
In his later years, Lovell resided in Lake Forest, Illinois, where his family ran Lovell’s restaurant, with his son Jay as head chef. He remained active in space advocacy, speaking on space exploration.
Lovell is survived by his four children: Barbara Harrison, James Lovell III, Susan Lovell, and Jeffrey Lovell, as well as 11 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. His passing signifies the end of an era for the early Apollo missions.
