NASA said he had “turned a potential tragedy into a success” after an attempt to land on the Moon was aborted due to an onboard explosion while the spacecraft was hundreds of thousands of miles from Earth.

Tens of millions watched on television as Lovell and two fellow astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean — a moment that became one of the most iconic in the history of space exploration. Lovell, who also took part in the Apollo 8 mission, was the first man to travel to the Moon twice — though he never actually landed. Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy said Lovell had helped the US space programme “forge a historic path.” In a statement, Lovell’s family said: “We will miss his unshakeable optimism, his sense of humour, and the way he made each of us feel we could do the impossible. He was truly one of a kind.” Tom Hanks, who portrayed Lovell in the 1995 film Apollo 13, called the astronaut one of those people “who dare, who dream, and who lead others to the places we would not go on our own.” In a statement on Instagram, Hanks said Lovell’s many voyages “were not made for riches or celebrity, but because such challenges are what fuel the course of being alive.”  (BBC)