He was an American hero.

Jim Lovell, the astronaut who settled in north suburban Lake Forest after a career that included four space missions, culminating in heroically guiding the Apollo 13 back to Earth after an explosion crippled part of the spacecraft, died Thursday at his home in Lake Forest. He was 97.

“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 Administrator Sean Duffy said in a statement released Friday announcing his death. “We mourn his passing even as we celebrate his achievements.”

He was the last surviving member of the first two batches of NASA astronauts.

‘Houston, we had a problem’

Apollo 13 launched April 11, 1970, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center

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