In an April 21, 1970 file photo, Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell uses a scale model during a televised news conference at the Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston to explain how the crew managed to survive after the explosion that damaged the service module during their mission to the moon. At center is John Swigert, command module pilot, and at right is Fred Haise, lunar module pilot. AP

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

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

“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

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