CHICAGO - Apollo 13 commander James Lovell, who helped turn a failed moon mission into a triumph of on-the-fly engineering, has died. He was 97 years old.

Lovell died Thursday in Lake Forest, Illinois, NASA confirmed in a statement on Friday.

Astronaut James Lovell dies

What they're saying:

"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," NASA said. "We mourn his passing even as we celebrate his achievements."

James Lovell’s legacy

Dig deeper:

One of NASA's most traveled astronauts in the agency's first decade, Lovell flew four times — Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8 and Apollo 13 — with the two Apollo flights riveting the folks back on Earth.

In 1968, the Apollo 8 crew o

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