Hollywood star Tom Hanks has paid tribute to Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell, whom he portrayed in the 1995 Oscar-nominated film “Apollo 13.”
“There are people who dare, who dream, and who lead others to places we would not go on our own,” Hanks said of Lovell, who died this week, aged 97.
“Jim Lovell, who had for a long while gone farther into space and longer for any other person of our planet, was that kind of guy,” Hanks posted to Instagram.
Lovell’s “many voyages around Earth, and on to so-very-close to the moon, were not made for riches or celebrity,” he continued. “But because such challenges as those are what fuels the course of being alive.”
On Friday, acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy confirmed the news of Lovell’s death in a statement.
“NASA sends its condolences to the family of Capt. Jim Lovell, whose life and work inspired millions of people across the decades,” the agency said. “Jim’s character and steadfast courage helped our nation reach the Moon and turned a potential tragedy into a success from which we learned an enormous amount. We mourn his passing even as we celebrate his achievements.”
Lovell served as the command module pilot for Apollo 8. During the mission, he and fellow astronauts Frank Borman and William Anders became the first three people to successfully fly to and orbit the moon, paving the way for Apollo 11’s historic moon landing.
The astronaut is probably most well known for leading the nearly disastrous Apollo 13 mission, widely regarded as “NASA’s finest hour.”
Lovell was the mission commander for what was meant to be NASA’s third moon landing.
The explosion of one of the craft’s oxygen tanks almost left the crew stranded in space. But the quick thinking of the astronauts on board and NASA ground control led them to slingshot the ship around the moon, allowing Lovell and his crewmates to safely return to Earth.
“From a pair of pioneering Gemini missions to the successes of Apollo, Jim helped our nation forge a historic path in space that carries us forward to upcoming Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond,” NASA said in a statement.
On Instagram, Hanks said of Lovell, “Godspeed you on this next voyage.”
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