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.”

American astronaut Jim Lovell, commander of the failed 1970 mission to the moon that nearly ended in disaster but became an inspirational saga of survival and the basis for the hit movie "Apollo 13," has died at the age of 97,