Astronaut James Lovell, who was commander of the 1970 Apollo 13 mission that managed to get back to earth safely after an oxygen tank explosion, has died. He was 97.

He led the three-man crew that survived a near catastrophic explosion in space in 1970, and was later immortalized by Tom Hanks in the movie “Apollo 13.”

Astronaut Jim Lovell, who guided the Apollo 13 mission safely back to Earth in 1970, has died aged 97. Nasa said he "turned a potential tragedy into a success" after an attempt to land on the Moon was aborted due to an explosion onboard the spacecraft while it was hundreds of thousands of miles from Earth.