View source for Jim Lovell

{{Short description|American astronaut (1928–2025)}}
{{Hatnote group|
 {{Redirect|Marilyn Lovell|the singer and AIDS activist|Marilyn Lovell Matz}}
 {{Other people|James Lovell}}
}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Pp|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2025}}

{{Infobox astronaut
| image = James Lovell.jpg
| caption = Lovell in 1969
| alt = Lovell posing in his spacesuit
| birth_name = James Arthur Lovell&nbsp;Jr.<!-- Nbsp is needed on mobile devices -->
| birth_date = {{birth date|1928|03|25}}
| birth_place = [[Cleveland]], Ohio, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2025|08|07|1928|03|25}}
| death_place = [[Lake Forest, Illinois]], U.S.
| spouse = {{marriage|Marilyn Gerlach|1952|2023|reason=died}}
| children = 4
| education = {{ubl|[[University of Wisconsin, Madison]]|[[United States Naval Academy]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])}}
| type = [[NASA astronaut]]
| time = 29&nbsp;days, 19&nbsp;hours, 5&nbsp;minutes
| selection = [[NASA Astronaut Group 2|NASA Group 2 (1962)]]
| mission = {{ubl|[[Gemini 7]]|[[Gemini 12]]|[[Apollo 8]]|[[Apollo 13]]}}
| insignia = [[File:Gemini VII patch.png|50px|alt=Gemini 7 logo]] [[File:Gemini 12 insignia.png|50px|alt=Gemini 12 logo]] [[File:Apollo-8-patch.png|50px|alt=Apollo 8 logo]] [[File:Apollo 13-insignia.png|50px|alt=Apollo 13 logo]]
| retirement = March 1, 1973
| module = {{Infobox military person
 | embed              = yes
 | allegiance         = <!-- United States; obvious -->
 | branch             = [[United States Navy]]<!--No flags per MOS:INFOBOXFLAG-->
 | branch_label       = Branch
 | serviceyears       = 1952–1973
 | serviceyears_label = Years
 | rank               = [[Captain (United States O-6)|Captain]]
 | unit               = {{hlist|[[VFAW-3|VC-3]]|[[VF-101]]}}
 | battles            = 
 | battles_label      = Conflicts
 | awards             = 
 }}
}}

'''James Arthur Lovell Jr.''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|ʌ|v|əl|audio=En-us-Lovell.oga}} {{respell|LUV|əl}}; March 25, 1928 – August 7, 2025) was an American astronaut, [[Naval aviator (United States)|naval aviator]], [[test pilot]], and mechanical engineer. In 1968, as [[command module pilot]] of [[Apollo 8]], he, along with [[Frank Borman]] and [[William Anders]], became one of the first three astronauts to fly to and orbit the [[Moon]]. He then commanded the [[Apollo 13]] lunar mission in 1970 which, after a critical failure en route, looped around the Moon and returned safely to Earth.

A 1952 graduate of the [[United States Naval Academy]] in [[Annapolis, Maryland]], Lovell flew [[McDonnell F2H Banshee]] night fighters. He was deployed in the Western Pacific aboard the aircraft carrier {{USS|Shangri-La|CVA-38|6}}. In January 1958, he entered a six-month test pilot training course at the [[United States Naval Test Pilot School|Naval Air Test Center]] at [[Naval Air Station Patuxent River]], Maryland, with Class 20 and graduated at the top of the class. He was then assigned to Electronics Test, working with [[radar]], and in 1960 he became the [[United States Navy|Navy]]'s [[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II]] program manager. In 1961, he became a flight instructor and safety engineering officer at [[Naval Air Station Oceana]] in [[Virginia Beach, Virginia]], and completed [[U.S.C. Institute of Safety and Systems Management|Aviation Safety School]] at the [[University of Southern California]].

Lovell was not selected by [[NASA]] as one of the [[Mercury Seven]] astronauts due to a temporarily [[high bilirubin]] count. He was accepted in September 1962 as one of the [[NASA Astronaut Group 2|second group of astronauts]] needed for the [[Project Gemini|Gemini]] and [[Apollo program|Apollo]] programs. Before Apollo, Lovell flew in space on two Gemini missions: [[Gemini 7]] (with Borman) in 1965 and [[Gemini 12]] in 1966. He was the first person to fly into space four times. Among the [[List of Apollo astronauts#Apollo astronauts who flew to the Moon without landing|24 astronauts who have orbited the Moon]], Lovell was the earliest to make a second visit but remains the only returnee never to walk on the surface. He was a recipient of the [[Congressional Space Medal of Honor]] and the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]]. He cowrote the 1994 book ''[[Lost Moon]]'', on which the 1995 film ''[[Apollo 13 (film)|Apollo 13]]'' was based, and he was featured in a [[cameo appearance]] in the film. Lovell died in 2025, aged 97.

==Early life==
James Arthur Lovell Jr. was born in [[Cleveland]], Ohio, on March 25, 1928. He was the only child of James Lovell Sr., a furnace salesman born in [[Toronto]], Canada, who died in a car accident in 1933 when Jr. was 5,<ref>{{Cite web |title=James A. Lovell Jr. |url=https://nmspacemuseum.org/inductee/james-a-lovell-jr/ |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=New Mexico Museum of Space History }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Jim Lovell Obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/aug/10/jim-lovell-apollo-13-obituary |last=Fountain |first=Nigel |date=2025-08-10 |website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> and Blanche (née Masek), who was of [[Czechs|Czech]] descent.<ref>{{cite web | title=Newsletter Spring 2000: Notable Americans with Czech Roots | publisher=American Friends of the Czech Republic | url=http://www.afocr.org/newsletters/spring2000.htm | access-date=November 29, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080123234750/http://www.afocr.org/newsletters/spring2000.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = January 23, 2008}}</ref> For two years after the death of his father, Lovell and his mother lived with a relative in [[Terre Haute, Indiana]]. They then moved to [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]], and he went to [[Solomon Juneau Business High School|Juneau High School]].{{sfn|Burgess|2013|pp=150–151}} He was a member of the [[Boy Scouts of America|Boy Scouts]] during his childhood and became an [[Eagle Scout]], the organization's highest rank.{{sfn|Townley|2006|pp=80–86}}<ref name="honor2">{{cite magazine | last=Ray | first=Mark | year=2007 | url=http://www.scoutingmagazine.org/issues/0701/a-what.html | title=What It Means to Be an Eagle Scout | magazine=Scouting Magazine | publisher=Boy Scouts of America | access-date=January 5, 2007 | archive-date=November 13, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113011825/https://scoutingmagazine.org/issues/0701/a-what.html | url-status=live }}</ref> He was interested in rocketry and built flying models as a teenager.{{sfn|Lovell|Kluger|1995|pp=57–59}}

[[File:Jim Lovell as an Annapolis midshipman.jpg|thumb|left|Lovell as an Annapolis [[midshipman]] in 1952]]

After graduating from high school, Lovell attended the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison|University of Wisconsin]] in Madison for two years, where he studied engineering under the [[United States Navy]]'s [[Aviation Cadet Training Program (USN)#Aviation Midshipman (AvMIDN) Program (1946–1950)|"Flying Midshipman" program]] from 1946 to 1948.<ref name=cnn>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/05/us/james-lovell-fast-facts/index.html|title=James Lovell Fast Facts|date=March 8, 2019|publisher=CNN|access-date=October 9, 2019|archive-date=December 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204034520/https://www.cnn.com/2013/04/05/us/james-lovell-fast-facts/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=98326|title=Capt. James A. Lovell Visits with Wisconsin NROTC Midshipmen|publisher=United States Navy|access-date=December 3, 2019|date=January 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525174952/http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=98326|archive-date=May 25, 2017}}</ref> He later credited the program for giving him the opportunity to attend college, saying that he otherwise did not have the money to attend.<ref name="returnstoMadison"/> At Wisconsin, he played college football and pledged to the [[Alpha Phi Omega]] fraternity.{{sfn|Burgess|2011|p=291}} He supplemented a meager Navy stipend by working at a local restaurant washing dishes and busing tables, and caring for the university's [[lab rats]] and [[Laboratory mouse|mice]] on weekends.<ref name="returnstoMadison">{{cite web |last1=Adams |first1=Barry |title=Jim Lovell returns to Madison where he washed dishes, cared for lab rats and began heroic career |url=https://madison.com/news/local/jim-lovell-returns-to-madison-where-he-washed-dishes-cared-for-lab-rats-and-began/article_8841000a-13e5-5c28-af52-b7f4f7dfb2a4.html |website=Wisconsin State Journal |access-date=August 22, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200524030956/https://madison.com/news/local/jim-lovell-returns-to-madison-where-he-washed-dishes-cared-for-lab-rats-and-began/article_8841000a-13e5-5c28-af52-b7f4f7dfb2a4.html |archive-date=May 24, 2020 |date=December 18, 2016}}</ref>

While Lovell was attending pre-flight training in the summer of 1948, the Navy was beginning to cut the program. Cadets were under pressure to transfer out because there were concerns that the Navy would lack pilot billets for some or most of them upon graduation. To avoid this, Lovell decided to apply to the [[United States Naval Academy]] in [[Annapolis, Maryland]].{{sfn|Lovell|Kluger|1995|pp=60–61}} He secured a nomination from his local [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]], [[John C. Brophy]], and entered Annapolis in July 1948.{{sfn|Burgess|2011|p=291}}

During his first year, Lovell wrote a treatise on the [[liquid-propellant rocket]] engine. He graduated in the spring of 1952 with a Bachelor of Science degree and was commissioned as an [[ensign (rank)|ensign]] in the Navy.{{sfn|Burgess|2011|p=291}}

== Marriage and family ==
Lovell began dating Marilyn Lillie Gerlach while they were in high school. As a college student, she transferred from [[Wisconsin State Teachers College-Milwaukee|Wisconsin State Teachers College]] to [[George Washington University]] in Washington, D.C., to be near him while he was attending the Naval Academy. They married on June 6, 1952, in a ceremony at [[St. Anne's Church (Annapolis, Maryland)|St. Anne's Church]] in Annapolis. The couple had four children: Barbara, James, Susan, and Jeffrey.<ref>{{cite web |last=Trivedi |first=Naman |date=9 August 2025 |title=Jim Lovell Family: All On Wife Marilyn Lovell And Children Susan, Jeffrey, Barbara, And Jay |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/world/us/us-news/jim-lovell-family-all-on-wife-marilyn-lovell-and-children-susan-jeffrey-barbara-and-jay-article-152433264 |access-date=9 August 2025 |website=Times Now}}</ref>

==Navy career==
Lovell was one of 50 members of his graduating class of 783 initially selected for naval aviation training.{{sfn|Lovell|Kluger|1995|p=65}} He went to flight training at [[Naval Air Station Pensacola]] from October 1952 to February 1954. He was designated a naval aviator on February 1, 1954, upon completion of pilot training, and was assigned to [[VFAW-3|VC-3]] at [[Moffett Field]] near San Francisco, California. From 1954 to 1956, he flew [[McDonnell F2H Banshee]] night fighters. This included a Western Pacific deployment aboard the aircraft carrier {{USS|Shangri-La|CVA-38|6}}. Lovell eventually completed 107 carrier landings. Upon his return to shore duty, he was assigned to train pilots moving to the [[North American FJ-4 Fury]], [[McDonnell F3H Demon]], and [[Vought F8U Crusader]].{{sfn|Lovell|Kluger|1995|p=72}}

In January 1958, Lovell entered a six-month [[test pilot]] training course at the Naval Air Test Center (today, the [[United States Naval Test Pilot School]]) at [[Naval Air Station Patuxent River]], [[Maryland]], with Class 20,{{sfn|Burgess|2013|p=151}} which also included future [[astronaut]]s [[Wally Schirra]] and [[Pete Conrad]],{{sfn|Lovell|Kluger|1995|pp=173–174}} who gave Lovell the nickname "Shaky".{{sfn|Wolfe|1979|pp=16, 80}} Lovell graduated at the top of the class.{{sfn|Lovell|Kluger|1995|pp=173–174}} Usually, the top graduate was assigned to flight test on graduation. Still, the head of electronics test had complained about never getting the top graduate, so Lovell was assigned there, where he worked with [[radar]] sets.{{sfn|Lovell|Kluger|1995|pp=173–174}}{{sfn|Goldberg|2003|p=15}}

Later that year, Lovell, Conrad, and Schirra were among 110 military test pilots selected as astronaut candidates for [[Project Mercury]]. Schirra went on to become one of the [[Mercury Seven]], but Lovell was not selected because of a temporarily high [[bilirubin]] count.{{sfn|Lovell|Kluger|1995|p=195}} In 1960, electronics test and armaments test were combined and became weapons test, and Lovell became the [[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II]] program manager.{{sfn|Lovell|Kluger|1995|pp=181–182}} During this time future astronaut [[John Young (astronaut)|John Young]] served under him. In 1961, Lovell received orders for [[VFA-101|VF-101 "Detachment Alpha"]] at [[Naval Air Station Oceana]] in [[Virginia Beach, Virginia]], as a flight instructor and safety engineering officer,{{sfn|Burgess|2011|p=292}} and he completed [[U.S.C. Institute of Safety and Systems Management|Aviation Safety School]] at the [[University of Southern California]].{{sfn|Burgess|2011|p=292}}

==NASA career==
===Astronaut selection===
[[File:Astronaut Group 2 - S62-6759.jpg|alt=Official group portrait of the nExt Nine astronauts in front of models of the Mercury, Apollo, and Gemini spacecraft |thumb|right|Group photo of [[NASA Astronaut Group 2]]; Lovell is third from the left in the back row]]

In 1962, [[NASA]] began recruiting its [[NASA Astronaut Group 2|second group of astronauts]], intended to fly during the [[Project Gemini|Gemini]] and [[Apollo program|Apollo]] programs. This time the process was a public one. Lovell found out about the selection from an advertisement that had been placed in ''[[Aviation Week & Space Technology]]'', and decided to apply a second time.{{sfn|Lovell|Kluger|1995|pp=182–183}} A three-person selection panel consisting of Mercury Seven astronauts [[Alan Shepard]] and [[Deke Slayton]], and NASA test pilot [[Warren J. North]], reduced the candidates to 32 finalists,{{sfn|Burgess|2013|p=7}}{{sfn|Burgess|2013|pp=32–33}} who were sent to [[Brooks Air Force Base]] in [[San Antonio]] for medical examinations. The tests there were much the same as those employed to select the Mercury Seven,{{sfn|Burgess|2013|pp=37–40}} but this time Lovell passed.{{sfn|Kluger|Lovell|1995|pp=180–183}} The remaining 27 then went to [[Ellington Air Force Base]] near Houston, where they were individually interviewed by the selection panel.{{sfn|Burgess|2013|pp=50–52}}

On September 14, Slayton informed Lovell that he had been accepted.{{sfn|Slayton|Cassutt|1994|p=120}} To avoid tipping off the media, Lovell checked into the [[Rice Hotel]] in Houston under the name of Max Peck, its general manager.{{sfn|Burgess|2013|pp=62–63}} On September 17, the media crowded into the 1800-seat [[Cullen Performance Hall|Cullen Auditorium]] at the [[University of Houston]] for the official announcement, but it wasn't as big as the unveiling of the Mercury Seven three years before.{{sfn|Burgess|2013|pp=64–66}} The group became known as the "[[NASA Astronaut Group 2|Next Nine]]" or the "New Nine".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americaspace.com/2012/09/15/the-best-all-around-group-nasas-astronauts-of-62/|title='The Best All-Around Group': NASA's Astronauts of '62|last1=Evans|first1=Ben|date=September 15, 2012|publisher=AmericaSpace|access-date=February 12, 2018|archive-date=February 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213195433/http://www.americaspace.com/2012/09/15/the-best-all-around-group-nasas-astronauts-of-62/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33352619/the_tampa_tribune/|title=Here are the Next Nine Astronauts Who Will Join in U.S. Race to the Moon|newspaper=[[The Tampa Tribune]]|location=Tampa, Florida|date=September 18, 1962|page=4A|via=Newspapers.com|agency=UPI|access-date=June 29, 2019|archive-date=June 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629071137/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33352619/the_tampa_tribune/|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Wolfe|1979|pp=392–393}}{{sfn|Koppel|2013|p=x}} The new astronauts moved to the Houston area in October 1962.{{sfn|Slayton|Cassutt|1994|p=123}} Conrad and Lovell built houses in [[Clear Lake City (Greater Houston)|Timber Cove]], south of the [[Manned Spacecraft Center]] (MSC).{{sfn|Koppel|2013|pp=103–104}} Developers in Timber Cove offered astronauts mortgages with small down payments and low interest rates.{{sfn|Wolfe|1979|p=396}} The MSC complex was not yet complete, so NASA temporarily leased office space in Houston.{{sfn|Burgess|2013|p=163}}

The task of supervising the Next Nine's training fell to Mercury Seven astronaut [[Gus Grissom]].{{sfn|Slayton|Cassutt|1994|p=123}} Initially, each of the astronauts was given four months of classroom instruction on subjects such as [[spacecraft propulsion]], [[orbital mechanics]], [[astronomy]], [[computing]], and [[space medicine]]. Classes were for six hours a day, two days a week, and all sixteen astronauts had to attend. There was also familiarization with the Gemini spacecraft, [[LGM-25C Titan II|Titan II]] and [[SM-65 Atlas|Atlas]] boosters, and the [[Agena target vehicle]].{{sfn|Burgess|2013|p=165}} Jungle survival training was conducted at the [[United States Air Force]] (USAF) Tropic Survival School at [[Albrook Air Force Station]] in the [[Panama Canal Zone]], desert survival training at [[Stead Air Force Base]] in [[Nevada]], and water survival training on the [[Dilbert Dunker]] at the USN school at Naval Air Station Pensacola and on [[Galveston Bay]].{{sfn|Burgess|2013|pp=170–174}} Following the precedent set by the Mercury Seven, each of the Next Nine was assigned a special area in which to develop expertise that could be shared with the others, and to provide astronaut input to designers and engineers.{{sfn|Slayton|Cassutt|1994|p=123}} Lovell became responsible for recovery systems.{{sfn|Burgess|2013|pp=166–167}}

===Gemini program===
====Gemini 7====
{{Main|Gemini 7}}
[[File:Lovell pre-launch gemini 7.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Lovell before the [[Gemini 7]] launch in the special [[G5C spacesuit]], which had a zippered hood with a visor instead of a solid helmet]]

Lovell was selected as backup pilot for [[Gemini 4]],{{sfn|Slayton|Cassutt|1994|p=138}} which was officially announced on July 29, 1964.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|p=223}} It put him in position for his first space flight three missions later, as pilot of [[Gemini 7]] with command pilot [[Frank Borman]], under a rotation system devised by Slayton.{{sfn|Slayton|Cassutt|1994|p=138}} Borman was a USAF officer, and Lovell had first met him during the evaluation process for astronaut selection.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=239–240}} Their selection for the Gemini 7 mission was officially announced on July 1, 1965, along with that of [[Ed White (astronaut)|Edward White]] and [[Michael Collins (astronaut)|Michael Collins]] as their backup crew.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|p=265}}

Like all Gemini missions, it was part of the preparations for Apollo. The flight's objective was to evaluate the effects on the crew and spacecraft from fourteen days in orbit, this being sufficiently long for any possible Moon mission, and would therefore enable doctors to evaluate the medical aspects of such a flight. The [[Gemini 6]] mission preceding it was to demonstrate techniques for [[space rendezvous]], also a critical requirement for Apollo. These techniques had been worked out by Dean F. Grimm and [[Buzz Aldrin]], who had written his doctoral thesis on the subject.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=266–268}}

The Gemini 6 mission, which was commanded by Schirra with [[Thomas P. Stafford|Tom Stafford]] as pilot, had a serious setback on October 15, 1965, when the Agena target vehicle that Gemini 6 was supposed to rendezvous with exploded soon after takeoff. Lovell was present at the [[Launch Control Center]] at [[Cape Kennedy]] when this occurred. Officials from [[McDonnell]], the manufacturer of the Gemini spacecraft, then raised the possibility of a rendezvous between Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 during the two weeks while Gemini 7 was in orbit.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=268–269}} The only change to the latter's flight plan this required was to circularize its orbit to match that intended for the Agena target vehicle. Borman rejected a proposal by Schirra that Lovell and Stafford exchange places, on the grounds that it was hazardous and likely to jeopardize the fourteen-day mission objective through loss of oxygen.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|p=276}}

In planning the mission, it was decided that both astronauts would sleep at the same time and observe the same work periods, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Experiments were not scheduled, but fitted in when time allowed.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=277–280}} Of the twenty experiments, eight were medical, aimed at gathering data about the effects of long-duration space flight. Of the rest, four were tests of spacecraft systems, five involved radiometry or navigation, and three involved photography and observation,{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=547–551}} To save space, the [[G5C spacesuit]] was designed to incorporate a soft hood instead of a helmet and zippers instead of a neck ring. It weighed a third less than the standard Gemini space suit and could be stowed more easily.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=277–280}}

Gemini 7 lifted off on December 4, 1965, and reached its intended {{convert|160|nmi|km|abbr=off|sp=us|adj=on|disp=out}} (160&nbsp;nmi; {{convert|160|nmi|mi|abbr=on|disp=out}}) near-circular orbit. Lovell, who was taller than Borman, had more difficulty donning and removing his spacesuit. Mission rules required that one astronaut remain suited at all times, but the suits made the astronauts uncomfortably warm. Mission control eventually relented and allowed both to leave their suits off.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=280–282}} Gemini 6, now called Gemini 6A, attempted to launch on December 12; the engines ignited, but shut down less than two seconds later due to an electrical problem and a fuel cap accidentally having been left in place.<ref name="wehavecapture">{{cite book |last1=Stafford |first1=Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BqdqBgAAQBAJ&q=We+Have+Capture |title=We Have Capture |last2=Cassutt |first2=Michael |author2-link=Michael Cassutt |date=2002 |publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution Press]] |isbn=978-1-58834-070-2 |location=Washington, DC |pages=64–72}}</ref> After repairs, Gemini 6A successfully lifted off on December 15, and rendezvoused with Gemini 7 on Gemini 6A's fourth orbit. The two spacecraft then flew in tandem for three orbits, the distance between them varying between {{convert|0.30|and|90|m|ft|sp=us|sigfig=1}}. Gemini 6A returned to Earth on December 16.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=286–289}}

In the final two days of the mission, Lovell had time to read part of ''[[Drums Along the Mohawk (novel)|Drums Along the Mohawk]]'' by [[Walter D. Edmonds]]. As in earlier long-duration flights, malfunctions accumulated as the flight wore on. Two of the thrusters stopped working. After the flight, this was traced to the fact that they had an old type of laminate in the thrust chamber instead of the new type that had been developed to solve this problem. This proved to be only an annoyance, but there was more concern over a loss of power in the [[fuel cell]]s. By day thirteen, a warning light was illuminated continuously and it was feared that the cells, which were only giving partial output, might fail completely, and the mission might have to be cut short; tests were carried out in [[St. Louis]] that demonstrated that the batteries could sustain them for the remainder of the flight. Gemini 7 made a successful return from orbit on December 18.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=291–294}} The fourteen-day flight set an endurance record, making 206 orbits.<ref name="nasa1">{{cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1965-100A|title=Gemini 7|access-date=May 28, 2017|publisher=NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive|archive-date=December 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181207134842/https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1965-100A|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Gemini 12====
{{Main|Gemini 12}}

On January 24, 1966, Lovell was named as the backup command pilot of [[Gemini 10]], with Aldrin as the pilot. On March 21, this was changed as a result of the deaths of the [[Gemini 9]] prime crew, [[Elliot See]] and [[Charles Bassett]], in [[1966 NASA T-38 crash|an air crash]]. The Gemini 9 backup crew of Tom Stafford and [[Gene Cernan]] became the prime crew of Gemini 9A, and Lovell and Aldrin became their backups. This positioned Lovell for his second flight and first command, of [[Gemini 12]]. Lovell and Aldrin's selection for this mission was officially announced on June 17, along with that of [[Gordon Cooper]] and Gene Cernan as their backups.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=325, 342, 354, 533}}

[[File:Gemini 12 crew arrives aboard the aircraft carrier USS Wasp.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Lovell (second from left) and [[Buzz Aldrin]] (third from left) arrive aboard the recovery vessel, the [[aircraft carrier]] {{USS|Wasp|CV-18|6}}, after the Gemini 12 flight.]]

The goals of Gemini 12, the final Gemini mission, were ill-defined at first. "Essentially Gemini 12 didn't have a mission", Lovell later recalled. "It was, I guess, by default{{nbsp}}... supposed to wind up the Gemini program and catch all those items that were not caught on previous flights."{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|p=370}} By July, its mission had become to master [[extravehicular activity]] (EVA), something that had proven problematic on earlier Gemini missions, as they had been more strenuous than expected and performing simple tasks had been more complicated. A series of innovations had been developed in response to the problems that had been encountered. It had been found that moving in space was similar to being underwater, and Aldrin made use of this new training technique. A waist restraint was provided on the space suit, and the Gemini spacecraft and the Agena target vehicle had additional handrails, handholds, and rings for tethering the waist restraint. Procedures were modified to minimize fatigue.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=370–373}}

Gemini 12 lifted off on November 11, and quickly achieved orbit. Its first task was to rendezvous with its Agena target vehicle. This was complicated when the rendezvous radar set failed. Instead, Aldrin, who had written his PhD on the rendezvous, used a [[sextant]] to measure the angle between the spacecraft and the Agena, and then calculated the required actions using the onboard computer. Lovell then flew the spacecraft accordingly. Rendezvous was achieved, and Gemini successfully [[Docking and berthing of spacecraft|docked]] with the Agena, achieving the fifth space rendezvous and fourth space docking with an Agena target vehicle. Lovell then successfully undocked and docked again.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=373–375}}

Aldrin performed three EVAs. The first was a standup EVA on November 12, in which the spacecraft door was opened and he stood up, but did not leave the spacecraft. The standup EVA mimicked some of the actions he would do during his free-flight EVA, so he could compare the effort expended between the two. It set an EVA record of two hours and twenty minutes. The next day Aldrin performed his free-flight EVA. He climbed across the newly installed hand-holds to the Agena and installed the cable needed for the gravity-gradient stabilization experiment. He performed several tasks, including installing electrical connectors and testing tools that would be needed for Apollo. The EVA concluded after two hours and six minutes.<ref name="nssdc">{{cite web |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1966-104A |title=Gemini 12 |publisher=NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive |access-date=August 9, 2017 |archive-date=March 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210325192048/https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1966-104A |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Reichl|2016|pp=141–142}} Before returning to the spacecraft, Aldrin cleaned the pilot's window with a cloth, and Lovell jokingly asked him if he could change the oil too.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|p=378}} A third, 55-minute standup EVA was conducted on November 14, during which Aldrin took photographs, conducted experiments, and discarded some unneeded items.<ref name="nssdc" />{{sfn|Reichl|2016|pp=141–142}}{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|p=377}}

Gemini 12 returned to Earth on November 15, after 59 orbits. During re-entry a pouch containing books and small pieces of equipment broke free and landed in Lovell's lap. He did not want to grab it, as he feared he might pull on the [[D-ring]] that activated the ejector seat. It did not move any further, and the landing went well. The spacecraft landed {{convert|3|nmi|km|abbr=off|sp=us|disp=out}} (3&nbsp;nmi; {{convert|3|nmi|mi|abbr=on|disp=out}}) from the recovery ship, the aircraft carrier {{USS|Wasp|CV-18|6}}. Twelve experiments had been carried out.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|p=379}} This mission proved that people could work effectively outside the spacecraft, which was required for the Apollo missions with the goal of getting man on the Moon by the end of the decade.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Granath |first1=Bob |title=Gemini XII Crew Masters the Challenges of Spacewalks |date=October 26, 2016 |url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/gemini-xii-crew-masters-the-challenges-of-spacewalks |publisher=NASA |access-date=May 3, 2021 |archive-date=May 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503131450/https://www.nasa.gov/feature/gemini-xii-crew-masters-the-challenges-of-spacewalks/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Apollo program===
====Apollo 1====
{{Main|Apollo 1}}
On January 27, 1967, Grissom, White and [[Roger Chaffee]] were killed in the [[Apollo 1]] fire. At the time, Lovell was in Washington, D.C., where, along with fellow astronauts [[Neil Armstrong]], [[Scott Carpenter]], Gordon Cooper and [[Richard F. Gordon Jr.|Richard Gordon]], he had attended the signing of the [[Outer Space Treaty]] and the reception afterwards in the [[Green Room (White House)|Green Room]] of the [[White House]] hosted by President [[Lyndon Johnson]]. Four days later, Lovell flew to [[West Point, New York]], with Borman in a NASA [[Northrop T-38 Talon|T-38]] for the funeral service for White at the [[Old Cadet Chapel (West Point)|Old Cadet Chapel]]. After the service, White was laid to rest in the [[West Point Cemetery]]; Lovell served as a pallbearer along with Armstrong, Borman, Conrad, Stafford and Aldrin.{{sfn|Hansen|2012|pp=304–308}}{{sfn|Lovell|Kluger|1995|pp=21–26}}

The [[Apollo command module]] was redesigned after the fire, and afterwards it underwent a series of qualification tests.{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|p=263}} In April 1968, Lovell, along with fellow astronauts [[Stuart Roosa]] and [[Charles Duke]], spent 48 hours in command module CM-007A, bobbing in the [[Gulf of Mexico]] to test the seaworthiness of the Apollo spacecraft.<ref>{{cite web |title=Apollo Command Module CM007A |publisher=Museum of Flight |url=https://pages.museumofflight.org/the-command-module |access-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108201918/https://pages.museumofflight.org/the-command-module |url-status=live }}</ref> The NASA research vessel {{MV|Retriever||6}} stood by with technicians and divers,<ref name="Yo Ho Ho">{{cite news |newspaper=NASA Roundup |location=Houston, Texas |volume=7 |issue=14 |date=April 26, 1968 |page=8 |title=Yo, Ho, Ho and a Bottle of Marezine |url=https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/roundups/issues/68-04-26.pdf |access-date=November 8, 2021 |archive-date=April 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423231749/https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/roundups/issues/68-04-26.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> while the astronauts assessed how quickly the spacecraft's flotation devices could right it from the "stable II" (upside down) position. The urine collection hose was used to vacuum up water that entered the cabin.{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|p=263}} Although this did not seem to bother Lovell, Duke regarded it as his worst experience as an astronaut, and Roosa became quite [[Motion sickness|seasick]].{{sfn|Moseley|2011|pp=106–107}} The NASA ''Roundup'' newspaper wrote the event up under the headline, "Yo, Ho, Ho and a Bottle of Marezine", referencing the brand name of [[cyclizine|a motion sickness drug]].<ref name="Yo Ho Ho"/>

====Apollo 8====
{{Main|Apollo 8}}
[[File:Apollo 8 Crewmembers - GPN-2000-001125.jpg|thumb|right|upright|The Apollo 8 crew. Left to right: Lovell, [[William Anders]] and [[Frank Borman]]. ]]

Lovell was originally chosen as command module pilot (CMP) on the backup crew for Apollo 9 along with Armstrong as commander (CDR) and Aldrin as [[lunar module]] pilot (LMP). Apollo 9 was planned as a high-[[apogee]] Earth orbital test of the Lunar Module (LM). Lovell later replaced Michael Collins as CMP on the Apollo 9 prime crew in July 1968 when Collins needed to have surgery for a [[bone spur]] on his spine. This reunited Lovell with his Gemini 7 commander Frank Borman, along with LMP [[William Anders]]. Aldrin became Lovell's backup CMP, and [[Fred Haise]] joined Armstrong's crew as LMP.{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|pp=260–265}}

[[File:As8 genesis1a.ogv|thumb|The [[Apollo 8]] 1968 Christmas Eve [[Apollo 8 Genesis reading|broadcast and reading]] from the [[Book of Genesis]] while in lunar orbit]]
Construction delays of the first crewed LM prevented it from being ready in time to fly on Apollo 8, planned as a [[low Earth orbit]] test. It was decided to swap the Apollo 8 and Apollo 9 prime and backup crews in the flight schedule so that the crew trained for the low-orbit test could fly it as [[Apollo 9]], when the LM would be ready. A lunar orbital flight, now [[Apollo 8]], replaced the original Apollo 9 medium Earth orbit test mission.{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|pp=260–265}} The crew was informed of this decision on August 10, 1968, and the training schedule was adjusted accordingly. Starting in September, the crew spent ten hours a day in the simulator rehearsing the mission.{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|p=275}}

Apollo 8 was launched on December 21, 1968, and Borman, Lovell and Anders became the first crew to ride the [[Saturn V]] rocket, as well as the first to travel to the [[Moon]].{{sfn|Ertel|Newkirk|Brooks|1978|pp=236–254}} Their Apollo craft entered lunar orbit on December 24 (Christmas Eve) and reduced speed to go into a {{convert|5.9|by|168.5|nmi|km|abbr=off|sp=us|adj=on|disp=out}} (5.9&nbsp;by&nbsp;168.5&nbsp;nmi; {{convert|5.9|by|168.5|nmi|mi|abbr=on|disp=out}}) orbit. The engine was then fired again to enter a {{convert|60|nmi|km|0|abbr=off|sp=us|adj=on|disp=out}} (60&nbsp;nmi; {{convert|60|nmi|mi|abbr=on|disp=out}}) circular orbit around the Moon.{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|p=275}}

On Christmas Eve, the crew broadcast black-and-white television pictures of the lunar surface back to Earth. Lovell took his turn with Borman and Anders in reading a passage from the Biblical creation story in the [[Apollo 8 Genesis reading|Book of Genesis]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo8_xmas.html|title=The Apollo 8 Christmas Eve Broadcast|publisher=NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive|access-date=December 29, 2017|date=September 25, 2007|archive-date=February 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110211104736/http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo8_xmas.html|url-status=live}}</ref> They made a total of ten orbits of the Moon in 20 hours and ten minutes,{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=39}} and began their return to Earth on December 25 (Christmas Day) with a rocket burn made on the Moon's far side, out of radio contact with Earth. When contact was re-established, Lovell broadcast, "Please be informed, there is a [[Santa Claus]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/topics/history/features/apollo_8.html|title=Apollo 8: Christmas at the Moon|date=December 18, 2014|publisher=NASA|access-date=December 29, 2017|archive-date=December 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171224191946/https://www.nasa.gov/topics/history/features/apollo_8.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Apollo 8 Lovell at Guidance and Navigation station.jpg|thumb|Lovell at the Command Module Guidance and Navigation station during the Apollo 8 mission]]

As CMP, Lovell served as navigator, using the spacecraft's [[sextant]] to determine its position by measuring star positions. These measurements were used to calculate required mid-course corrections. During otherwise idle time, he conducted navigational sightings, maneuvering the module to view stars and entering data via the [[Apollo Guidance Computer]] keyboard. During one of these data entries, Lovell accidentally erased some of the computer's memory by entering the wrong codes, causing the [[Apollo PGNCS#Inertial measurement unit|inertial measurement unit]] (IMU) to register the module as having the same orientation it did before liftoff. The IMU then initiated thruster firings to "correct" for this newly registered attitude.<ref name="Benke">{{cite news |title=Astronauts look back 30 years after historic lunar launch |first=Richard |last=Benke |url=http://cgi.canoe.ca/SpaceArchive/981221_30.html |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=[[The Augusta Chronicle]] |location=[[Augusta, Georgia]] |date=December 21, 1998 |access-date=June 28, 2013 |archive-date=December 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121206004702/http://cgi.canoe.ca/SpaceArchive/981221_30.html |url-status=usurped }}</ref>{{sfn|Kluger|2017|pp=259–261}}

After identifying the issue, the crew knew that they would have to reenter the orientation data. Lovell took about ten minutes to calculate the correct values, using the thrusters to align the stars [[Rigel]] and [[Sirius]] in the sextant,{{sfn|Kluger|2017|pp=259–261}} and another 15 minutes to enter the correct measurements into the computer.{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=39}} The experience later proved valuable during [[Apollo 13]], when Lovell had to perform a similar manual realignment under critical conditions after the IMU had been turned off to conserve energy.{{sfn|Lovell|Kluger|1995|pp=282–283}}

A feature on the Moon's surface ([[Mount Marilyn]]) was named by Lovell in honor of his wife.<ref name="j522">{{cite web | title=Mount Marilyn: A Lunar Love Story | website=Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera | date=July 26, 2017 | url=https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/1312 | access-date=August 8, 2025}}</ref>

The spacecraft [[splashed down]] safely before dawn on December 27 after 147 hours of flight, {{convert|2.6|nmi|km|abbr=off|sp=us|disp=out}} (2.6&nbsp;nmi; {{convert|2.6|nmi|mi|abbr=on|disp=out}}) from the recovery ship, the aircraft carrier {{USS|Yorktown|CV-10|6}}. It was estimated that the crew had traveled {{convert|504006|nmi|km|abbr=off|sp=us|disp=out}} (504,006&nbsp;nmi; {{convert|504006|nmi|mi|abbr=on|disp=out}}).{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=40}}

====Apollo 13====
{{Main|Apollo 13}}
[[File:Lovell family greet reporters.jpg|thumb|right|Marilyn Lovell and children Susan, Barbara and Jeffrey meet with reporters after the safe return of Apollo 13.]]

Lovell was backup CDR of [[Apollo 11]], with Anders as CMP, and Haise as LMP.{{sfn|Brooks|Grimwood|Swenson|1979|pp=260–265}} In early 1969, Anders accepted a job with the [[National Space Council|National Aeronautics and Space Council]] effective August 1969, and announced he would retire as an astronaut at that time. [[Ken Mattingly]] was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup CMP in case Apollo 11 was delayed past its intended July launch date, at which point Anders would be unavailable.{{sfn|Slayton|Cassutt|1994|p=237}}

Under the normal crew rotation in place during Apollo, Lovell, Mattingly, and Haise were scheduled to fly as the prime crew of [[Apollo 14]], but [[George Mueller (NASA)|George Mueller]], the director of NASA's Office of Manned Space Flight, rejected Slayton's choice of fellow Mercury Seven astronaut Alan Shepard to command Apollo 13. Shepard had only recently returned to flight status after being grounded for several years, and Mueller thought that he needed more training time to prepare for a mission to the Moon. Slayton then asked Lovell if he was willing to switch places with Shepard's crew to give them more training time.{{sfn|Slayton|Cassutt|1994|p=237}} "Sure, why not?" Lovell replied, "What could possibly be the difference between Apollo 13 and Apollo 14?"{{sfn|Thompson|2004|p=392}}

There was one more change. Seven days before launch, a member of the Apollo 13 backup crew, Duke, contracted [[rubella]] from a friend of his son.<ref name="Oral">{{cite web  |title=Charles M. Duke, Jr. Oral History  |publisher=NASA  |url=https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/DukeCM/DukeCM_3-12-99.htm  |access-date=December 17, 2019 |archive-date=August 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810075553/https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/DukeCM/DukeCM_3-12-99.htm  |url-status=live  }}</ref> This exposed both the prime and backup crews, who trained together. Of the five, only Mattingly was not immune through prior exposure. Normally, if any member of the prime crew had to be grounded, the remaining crew would be replaced as well, and the backup crew substituted, but Duke's illness ruled this out,{{sfn|NASA 1970|p=6}} so two days before launch, Mattingly was replaced by [[Jack Swigert]] from the backup crew.<ref name = "swigert bio">{{cite web|url=http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/swigert-jl.html|access-date=August 21, 2009|title=Astronaut Bio: John L. Swigert|date=January 1983|publisher=NASA|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090731012402/http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/swigert-jl.html|archive-date=July 31, 2009| url-status=dead}}</ref> Mattingly never developed rubella and later flew to the Moon on [[Apollo 16]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.universetoday.com/62576/13-things-that-saved-apollo-13-part-3-charlie-dukes-measles/|last=Atkinson|first=Nancy|title=13 things that saved Apollo 13, Part 3: Charlie Duke's measles|date=April 12, 2010|access-date=November 13, 2019|journal=[[Universe Today]]|archive-date=January 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115231917/https://www.universetoday.com/62576/13-things-that-saved-apollo-13-part-3-charlie-dukes-measles/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Lovell lifted off aboard Apollo 13 on April 11, 1970.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo13.html|title=Apollo 13|date=July 8, 2009|publisher=NASA|access-date=December 29, 2017|archive-date=November 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117054040/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo13.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He and Haise were to land near the [[Fra Mauro (crater)|Fra Mauro crater]]. The [[Fra Mauro formation]] was believed to contain much material spattered by the impact that had filled the [[Imbrium basin]] early in the Moon's history, and dating it would provide information about the early history of the Earth and the Moon.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/apr/16/apollo-13-mission-control-unsung-heroes-jim-lovell-interview|title=Apollo 13: celebrating the unsung heroes of mission control|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|location=London|access-date=December 29, 2017|last1=McKie|first1=Robin|date=April 16, 2017|archive-date=December 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230115209/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/apr/16/apollo-13-mission-control-unsung-heroes-jim-lovell-interview|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Harland|1999|pp=51–53}}

{{quote box
|quote=<poem>"We have a problem here", Swigert informed mission control.
"This is Houston, say again please," the [[capsule communicator]], [[Jack Lousma]], responded.
"Houston, we've had a problem," Lovell replied.</poem>|source={{harvnb|Lovell|Kluger|1995|p=95}} |align=left}}

During a routine [[liquid oxygen]] tank stir in transit to the Moon, a fire started inside an oxygen tank. The most probable cause determined by NASA was damaged electrical insulation on wiring that created a spark that started the fire.<ref name="report">{{Cite book |last=Cortright |first=Edgar M. |title=Report of the Apollo 13 Review Board |date=June 15, 1970 |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19700076776_1970076776.pdf |publisher=NASA |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=December 28, 2017 |archive-date=October 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017214135/https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19700076776_1970076776.pdf |url-status=live }} Text (.TXT) file of report [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo_13_review_board.txt here]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113005328/http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo_13_review_board.txt |date=January 13, 2017 }}. Multi-part PDF files of the report are available [https://history.nasa.gov/ap13rb/ap13index.htm here]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606113947/http://history.nasa.gov/ap13rb/ap13index.htm |date=June 6, 2013 }} and [http://drushel.cwru.edu/apollo13/ here]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518094130/http://drushel.cwru.edu/apollo13/ |date=May 18, 2013 }}.</ref> A problem with draining the tank had been reported before the mission, and Lovell had approved the action taken to turn on the heaters to purge the oxygen rather than to replace the faulty tank, which would have delayed the mission by a month. Neither he nor the launch pad crew were aware that the tank contained the wrong thermostat switch. The heaters were left on for eight hours, and while this successfully purged the oxygen, it also removed [[teflon]] insulation from the copper electrical wiring.{{sfn|Lovell|Kluger|1995|pp=348–350}} Liquid oxygen rapidly turned into a high-pressure gas, which burst the tank and caused the leak of a second oxygen tank. In just over two hours, all onboard oxygen was lost, disabling the hydrogen fuel cells that provided electrical power to the Command/Service Module ''Odyssey''.{{sfn|Lovell|Kluger|1995|pp=95–105}}

[[File:Jim Lovell newspaper.jpg|thumb|right|Lovell reads a newspaper account of Apollo 13's safe return aboard recovery vessel {{USS|Iwo Jima|LPH-2|6}}.]]

Apollo 13 was the second mission not to use a [[free-return trajectory]], so that they could explore the western lunar regions.{{sfn|Chaikin|2007|p=298}} Using the [[Apollo Lunar Module]] as a "life boat" providing battery power, oxygen, and propulsion, Lovell and his crew re-established the free return trajectory that they had left, and swung around the Moon to return home.{{sfn|Chaikin|2007|pp=304–305}} Based on the flight controllers' calculations made on Earth, Lovell had to adjust the course twice by manually controlling the Lunar Module's thrusters and engine.{{sfn|Chaikin|2007|pp=314, 322}}

Apollo 13 returned safely to Earth on April 17.{{sfn|Chaikin|2007|p=611}} "I'm afraid", Lovell said, "this is going to be the last lunar mission for a long time."<ref name="Long time">{{cite web  |work=Apollo 13 Flight Journal  |publisher=NASA  |title=Day 3, part 5: Minimising Power  |url=https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap13fj/11day3-minimise-power.html  |access-date=November 9, 2021 |archive-date=August 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818020850/https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap13fj/11day3-minimise-power.html  |url-status=live  }}</ref> His comment was rebutted by [[NASA Administrator]] [[Thomas O. Paine]], who hastened to reassure the public that NASA would be mounting more missions to the Moon.{{sfn|Chaikin|2007|p=323}} Nine months later, Apollo 14 would make the voyage to Fra Mauro, with modified oxygen tanks and an extra battery for emergencies.<ref name="Long time" />

As Lovell said to NASA's "Houston we Have a Podcast" in 2020: "You can't suddenly have a problem, and then just you know, close your eyes and then hope there's a miracle coming on, because a miracle is something you have to do yourself, or having people to help you."<ref>{{Cite podcast |url=https://www.nasa.gov/podcasts/houston-we-have-a-podcast/apollo-13/ |title=#139: Apollo 13 |website=Houston We Have a Podcast |publisher=NASA Johnson Space Center |last=Jordan |first=Gary |date=April 10, 2020 |last2=Lovell |first2=James A. |last3=Haise |first3=Fred W. |access-date=August 10, 2025}}</ref>

Apollo 13's flight trajectory gave Lovell, Haise, and Swigert the record for the farthest distance that humans have ever traveled from Earth.<ref name="timeline">{{cite web | url=http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/pressroom/lovell/lovell_timeline.pdf | title=Captain James A. Lovell Jr. Timeline | access-date=October 4, 2007 | author=Salgado, José Francisco | date=June 30, 2006 | publisher=Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071127022319/http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/pressroom/lovell/lovell_timeline.pdf <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = November 27, 2007}}</ref>{{sfn|Glenday|2010|p=13}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.space.com/11337-human-spaceflight-records-50th-anniversary.html|title=The Most Extreme Human Spaceflight Records|publisher=Space.com|last1=Wall|first1=Mike|date=April 23, 2019|access-date=November 26, 2019|archive-date=January 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200116134720/https://www.space.com/11337-human-spaceflight-records-50th-anniversary.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Lovell is one of only three men to travel to the Moon twice, but unlike the other two, John Young and Gene Cernan, he never walked on it.{{sfn|Burgess|2013|p=152}} He accrued 715 hours and 5 minutes in space flights on his Gemini and Apollo flights, a personal record that stood until the [[Skylab 3]] mission in 1973.<ref name="nasabio" />

==Later life and death==
[[File:Jim_Lovell.jpg|thumb|Lovell speaking at the [[North Carolina Science Festival]] in April 2017]]

Lovell retired from the Navy and the space program on March 1, 1973, and went to work at the Bay-Houston Towing Company in [[Houston]], Texas,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41170463/the_indianapolis_star/|title=Astronaut Lovell to Retire Soon|newspaper=[[The Indianapolis Star]]|location=[[Indianapolis]], Indiana|date=January 7, 1973|page=20|via=Newspapers.com|agency=Associated Press|access-date=December 27, 2019|archive-date=February 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204132844/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41170463/page-20/|url-status=live}}</ref> taking on the role of CEO in 1975. He became president of Fisk Telephone Systems in 1977,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41182594//|title=Astronaut James Lovell Featured Speaker at WMC|page=5|via=Newspapers.com|newspaper=[[The Montana Standard]]|location=[[Butte, Montana]]|date=April 15, 1983|access-date=December 28, 2019|archive-date=December 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228020254/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41182594//|url-status=live}}</ref> and later worked for [[Centel|Centel Corporation]] in Chicago, retiring as an executive vice president on January 1, 1991.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41181676/chicago_tribune/|title=The Moon, and Back|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=April 14, 1991|page=18-1|via=Newspapers.com|last1=Engber|first1=Martha|access-date=December 28, 2019|archive-date=February 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204132845/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41181676/page-18-1/|url-status=live}}</ref> Lovell was a recipient of the [[Distinguished Eagle Scout Award]].<ref name="desalista">{{cite web |url = http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/02-529.pdf |title = Distinguished Eagle Scouts |publisher=Boy Scouts of America|access-date = November 4, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709153847/https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/02-529.pdf|archive-date=July 9, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41231208/the_springville_herald/|title=Astronaut to Speak at Eagle Gathering|newspaper=[[The Springville Herald]]|location=[[Springville, Utah]]|date=June 2, 1993|via=Newspapers.com|page=4|access-date=December 28, 2019|archive-date=December 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228224100/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41231208/the_springville_herald/|url-status=live}}</ref> He was also recognized by the Boy Scouts of America with their [[Silver Buffalo Award]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.buckeyecouncil.org/Scouting/Awards/Service/Silver-Buffalo-Award|title=Silver Buffalo Award|publisher=Boy Scouts of America|work=Buckeye Council|access-date=December 26, 2017|archive-date=December 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171227122457/http://www.buckeyecouncil.org/Scouting/Awards/Service/Silver-Buffalo-Award|url-status=live}}</ref>

Lovell was on the board of directors for several organizations, including [[Federal Signal Corporation]] in Chicago from 1984 to 2003, the [[Astronautics Corporation of America]] in his hometown of Milwaukee from 1990 to 1999, and Centel from 1987 to 1991.<ref name="nasabio">{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/lovell_james_0.pdf|title=Astronaut Bio: James A. Lovell|access-date=April 12, 2021|date=December 1994|publisher=NASA|archive-date=September 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200916072920/https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/lovell_james_0.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1999, the Lovell family opened a restaurant in [[Lake Forest, Illinois]], "Lovell's of Lake Forest". The restaurant displayed memorabilia from Lovell's time with NASA and the filming of ''[[Apollo 13 (film)|Apollo 13]]''. The restaurant was sold to son and executive chef James ("Jay") in 2006.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lovellsoflakeforest.com/ |title=Lovells of Lake Forest |publisher=Lovells of Lake Forest |access-date=June 9, 2013 |archive-date=February 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223160608/http://www.lovellsoflakeforest.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The restaurant was put on the market for sale in February 2014,<ref>{{cite news|first=Linda |last=Blaser |url=http://lakeforest.suntimes.com/news/business/lovells-LFR-02132014:article |title=Lovell family confirms sale of Lake Forest restaurant |newspaper=[[Lake Forester]] |location=Lake Forest, Illinois |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222042230/http://lakeforest.suntimes.com/news/business/lovells-LFR-02132014%3Aarticle |archive-date=February 22, 2014 |date=February 19, 2014 |access-date=July 30, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and it closed in April 2015, the property being auctioned the same month.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lovellsoflakeforest.com/events |title=Lovells of Lake Forest Easter Brunch Sunday, April 5, 2015 |website=lovellsoflakeforest.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429051440/http://www.lovellsoflakeforest.com/events |archive-date=April 29, 2015 |url-status=dead |access-date=March 18, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36018502/chicago_tribune/|title=Lovells of Lake Forest Reaches Journey's End|last1=Luc|first1=Karie Angell|page=8|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=April 9, 2015|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=September 16, 2019|archive-date=February 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204132846/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36018502/chicago-tribune/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Lovell's wife, Marilyn died of natural causes on August 27, 2023, at the age of 93.<ref>{{cite news |first=Bob |last=Goldsborough |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/obituaries/ct-marilyn-lovell-obituary-20230901-ueet4ududvfovexentl7drrpre-story.html | title=Marilyn Lovell, wife of Apollo 13 commander, dies  | newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] | date=September 1, 2023 | access-date=September 2, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Traub |first=Alex |date=September 4, 2023 |title=Marilyn Lovell, Astronaut's Wife in the Spotlight, Is Dead at 93 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/04/us/marilyn-lovell-dead.html |access-date=September 5, 2023}}</ref> Lovell died on August 7, 2025, at his home in Lake Forest, Illinois, at the age of 97.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Acting NASA Administrator Reflects on Legacy of Astronaut Jim Lovell |publisher=NASA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/acting-nasa-administrator-reflects-on-legacy-of-astronaut-jim-lovell/ |access-date=August 8, 2025 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Dudek |first=Mitch |date=August 8, 2025 |title=Jim Lovell, Apollo 13 astronaut who settled in Lake Forest, dies at 97 |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/obituaries/2025/08/08/jim-lovell-obituary-apollo-13-astronaut-dies-at-97 |access-date=August 9, 2025 |newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]}}</ref> He is buried next to Marilyn in the [[United States Naval Academy Cemetery]] in [[Annapolis, Maryland]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Column: Spaceflights kept astronaut James Lovell grounded  |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |first=Charles |last=Selle |date=August 11, 2025 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/08/11/column-selle-lovell-spaceflights/ |access-date=5 September 2025 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Awards and decorations==
[[File:US Navy 101009-N-6003P-082 Retired astronauts Capt. Jim Lovell, Capt. Gene Cernan, and Neil Armstrong stand on painted footprints to commemorate th.jpg|thumb|right|Lovell (left), [[Gene Cernan]] (center), and [[Neil Armstrong]] during the 2010 Legends of Aerospace tour aboard the aircraft carrier {{USS|Harry S. Truman|CVN 75|6}}]]

Lovell's awards and decorations include:<ref name=ishof>{{cite web|url=http://www.nmspacemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.php?id=65|publisher=New Mexico Museum of Space History|access-date=October 9, 2019|title=James A. Lovell Jr., USA, Inducted in 1982|archive-date=April 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425075245/http://www.nmspacemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.php?id=65|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Military, federal service, and foreign awards===
* [[Navy Distinguished Service Medal]] with [[5/16 inch star|gold star]]<ref name=hov>{{cite web|url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/42448|title=James A. Lovell|publisher=The Hall of Valor Project|access-date=November 27, 2019|archive-date=November 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191128023053/https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/42448|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Distinguished Flying Cross (U.S.)|Distinguished Flying Cross]] with gold star<ref name=hov />
* [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39764154/the_philadelphia_inquirer/|title=Heroes of Apollo 13 Welcomed by President and Loved Ones|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|date=April 19, 1970|via=Newspapers.com|page=1|access-date=November 28, 2019|archive-date=February 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204132846/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39764154/heroes-of-apollo-13-welcomed-by/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Congressional Space Medal of Honor]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39797776/pensacola_news_journal/|title=Real-Life Apollo Astronaut Wins Medal|newspaper=[[Pensacola News Journal]]|location=[[Pensacola, Florida]]|date=July 27, 1995|page=2A|via=Newspapers.com|agency=Associated Press|access-date=November 29, 2019|archive-date=February 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204132846/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39797776/real-life-apollo-astronaut-wins-medal/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[NASA Distinguished Service Medal]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39740320/tampa_bay_times/|title=America Pays Tribute to 'Boldest Explorers'|newspaper=[[Tampa Bay Times]]|location=[[St. Petersburg, Florida]]|date=January 10, 1969|page=1A|via=Newspapers.com|agency=Associated Press|volume=85|issue=170|access-date=November 28, 2019|archive-date=November 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191128064659/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39740320/tampa_bay_times/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44062092/arizona_republic/|title=Agnew Confers Awards on Crews of 3 Apollos|newspaper=Arizona Republic|location=Phoenix, Arizona|date=November 14, 1970|agency=Associated Press|page=23|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=February 11, 2020|archive-date=February 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204132846/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44062092/page-23/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[NASA Exceptional Service Medal]] with star<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39739763/the_tampa_tribune/|title=4 Gemini Astronauts Agree Man Can Survive in Space|newspaper=[[The Tampa Tribune]]|location=[[Tampa, Florida]]|date=December 31, 1965|via=Newspapers.com|page=3-B|access-date=November 28, 2019|archive-date=February 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204132847/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39739763/4-gemini-astronauts-agree-man-can/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23093107/the_evening_times/ |title=Johnson Sees Greater U.S. Success in Space |newspaper=[[The Evening Times]] |location=[[Sayre, Pennsylvania]] |date=November 23, 1966 |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com |agency=Associated Press |access-date=November 28, 2019 |archive-date=July 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717043444/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23093107/the_evening_times/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Legion of Honour|Légion d'honneur (Chevalier)]]{{sfn|Science and Technology Division, Library of Congress|1972|p=249}}

===Other awards and accomplishments===
* [[Alpha Phi Omega]] Fall Pledge Class Namesake (1967)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wvualphaphiomega.webs.com/namesakes |title=Lambda Omicron Chapter Namesakes |website=wvualphaphiomega.webs.com |access-date=March 18, 2018 |archive-date=April 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150409001453/http://wvualphaphiomega.webs.com/namesakes |url-status=live }}</ref>
* American Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award (1968)<ref>{{cite web  |title=All Honorees  |publisher=American Academy of Achievement  |url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/all-honorees/  |access-date=November 13, 2021 |archive-date=September 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905061659/https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/all-honorees/  |url-status=live  }}</ref>
* [[Henry H. Arnold]] Trophy (1969)<ref>{{cite speech|url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/240868|title=Remarks on Presenting the Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy to the Apollo 8 Astronauts.|last=Nixon|first=Richard|author-link=Richard Nixon|date=March 5, 1969|location=Fish Room at the White House|publisher=The American Presidency Project|access-date=April 2, 2017|archive-date=February 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204132847/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-presenting-the-robert-h-goddard-memorial-trophy-the-apollo-8-astronauts|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Institute of Navigation]] Award (1969)<ref name="nasabio" />
* [[National Geographic Society]]'s [[Hubbard Medal]] (1969)<ref name=hubbard>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33382957/muncie_evening_press/|title=Hubbard Medal to Borman Crew|newspaper=[[Muncie Evening Press]]|location=[[Muncie, Indiana]]|date=April 4, 1969|page=5|via=Newspapers.com|agency=United Press International|access-date=September 16, 2019|archive-date=June 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630052331/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33382957/muncie_evening_press/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* {{lang|fr|[[Fédération Aéronautique Internationale]]|italic=no}} (FAI) De Laval Medal & Gold Space Medals (1971)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39727802/the_morning_herald/|title=Col. Rockwell Honored by Aero Group|newspaper=[[The Morning Herald]]|location=[[Uniontown, Pennsylvania]]|date=October 27, 1971|via=Newspapers.com|page=16|access-date=November 28, 2019|archive-date=February 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204132847/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39727802/col-rockwell-honored-by-aero-group/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Distinguished Eagle Scout Award]] (1990)<ref name=oota>{{cite web|url=http://history.oa-bsa.org/node/3307|title=Jim Lovell {{!}} Our History|work=Order of the Arrow|publisher=Boy Scouts of America |access-date=April 2, 2017|archive-date=September 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912151150/http://history.oa-bsa.org/node/3307|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Silver Buffalo]] (Boy Scouts of America) (1992)<ref name=oota />
* [[Space Foundation]]'s General [[James E. Hill]] Lifetime Space Achievement Award (2003)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.spacefoundation.org/what-we-do/awards/general-james-e-hill-lifetime-space-achievement-award |title=General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award |website=spacefoundation.org |date=April 2, 2009 |access-date=March 18, 2018 |archive-date=March 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319004052/https://www.spacefoundation.org/what-we-do/awards/general-james-e-hill-lifetime-space-achievement-award |url-status=live }}</ref>
* NASA Ambassadors of Exploration Award (2009)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/topics/people/features/lovell.html |title=James Lovell Received NASA's Ambassador of Exploration Award |publisher=NASA |date=April 3, 2009 |access-date=March 18, 2018 |archive-date=November 18, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118034004/http://www.nasa.gov/topics/people/features/lovell.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Laureate of the [[Lincoln Academy of Illinois|Order of Lincoln]]—the highest honor awarded by the state of Illinois (2012)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thelincolnacademyofillinois.org/laureates-alphabetically/|title=Laureates Alphabetically|work=The Lincoln Academy of Illinois |access-date=December 4, 2021|archive-date=September 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918135124/https://thelincolnacademyofillinois.org/laureates-alphabetically/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[The Honourable Company of Air Pilots]] Award of Honour, presented by the then Duke of York (later [[Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor]]) in October 2013<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.airpilots.org/about-the-company/trophies-and-awards/award-winners/the-award-of-honour/ |title=The Award of Honour Air Pilots |publisher=The Honourable Company of Air Pilots |access-date=March 18, 2018 |archive-date=March 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319004137/https://www.airpilots.org/about-the-company/trophies-and-awards/award-winners/the-award-of-honour/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:US Navy 090824-N-9876C-013 Retired Navy captain and former astronaut Jim Lovell and his wife, Marilyn Gerlach, sign the final roofing beam to be lifted into place during the topping off ceremony for the Captain James A. Lovell.jpg|thumb|upright|Lovell and his wife Marilyn in 2009]]

The Gemini 6 and 7 crews were awarded the [[Harmon Trophy|Harmon International Trophy]] for 1966 in a ceremony at the White House.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32069952/the_baltimore_sun/|title=4 Spacemen are Honored|newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]]|location=[[Baltimore]], Maryland|via=Newspapers.com|date=August 7, 1966|page=4|agency=Associated Press|access-date=May 30, 2019|archive-date=June 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607025252/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32069952/the_baltimore_sun/|url-status=live}}</ref> Lovell received a second Harmon International Trophy in 1967 when he and Aldrin were selected for their Gemini 12 flight.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32069556/lincoln_journal_star/|title=Harmon Awards to Astronauts|newspaper=[[Lincoln Journal Star]]|location=[[Lincoln, Nebraska]]|date=September 11, 1967|page=9|agency=UPI|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 30, 2019|archive-date=June 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607040553/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32069556/lincoln_journal_star/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Apollo 8 crew won the [[Collier Trophy|Robert J. Collier Trophy]] for 1968.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26977750/alabama_journal/|title=Apollo 8 Wins Collier Trophy|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=[[Alabama Journal]]|location=[[Montgomery, Alabama]]|via=Newspapers.com|date=May 9, 1969|page=18|access-date=January 8, 2019|archive-date=January 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108145508/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26977750/alabama_journal/|url-status=live}}</ref> President [[Richard Nixon]] awarded them the [[Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy]] in 1969, which Lovell accepted on behalf of the crew.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26978415/the_san_francisco_examiner/|title=Paine Selected as NASA Chief|newspaper=[[The San Francisco Examiner]]|agency=Associated Press|via=Newspapers.com|location=San Francisco, California|page=6|date=March 5, 1969|access-date=January 8, 2019|archive-date=January 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108145454/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26978415/the_san_francisco_examiner/|url-status=live}}</ref> The General Thomas D. White USAF Space Trophy is normally awarded to Air Force personnel, but an exception was made to include Lovell so that the entire Apollo 8 crew were awarded the 1968 trophy.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Magazine%20Documents/1997/May%201997/0597recs.pdf#page=5 |magazine=Air Force Magazine |title=The Gen. Thomas D. White USAF Space Trophy |date=May 1997 |page=156 |access-date=February 15, 2019 |archive-date=April 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412120754/http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Magazine%20Documents/1997/May%201997/0597recs.pdf#page=5 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39728431/valley_times/|title=Apollo 8 Crew Honored|newspaper=Valley Times|location=[[North Hollywood, California]]|date=April 3, 1969|page=2|via=Newspapers.com|agency=UPI|access-date=November 28, 2019|archive-date=February 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204132848/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39728431/apollo-8-crew-honored-page-2/|url-status=live}}</ref> Lovell was awarded a third Harmon International Trophy in 1969 for his role in the Apollo 8 mission.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32070254/fort_lauderdale_news/|title=AF Major, 3 Astronauts Get Harmon|newspaper=[[Fort Lauderdale News]]|location=[[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]]|date=September 7, 1969|page=3E|via=Newspapers.com|agency=UPI|access-date=May 30, 2019|archive-date=June 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607010727/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32070254/fort_lauderdale_news/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Apollo 8 crew was also awarded the [[American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics]] (AIAA) Haley Astronautics Award for 1970,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39810206/florida_today/|title=Apollo 8 Crew Honored|newspaper=[[Florida Today]]|location=[[Cocoa, Florida]]|date=March 25, 1970|page=12C|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=November 29, 2019|archive-date=February 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204132905/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39810206/florida-today/|url-status=live}}</ref> and were named [[Time Magazine Person of the Year|''Time'' Magazine Men of the Year]] in 1968.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2019712_2019703_2019664,00.html |title=Person of the Year Astronauts Anders, Borman and Lovell: 1968 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |last1=Levinstein |first1=Joan |access-date=October 9, 2019 |archive-date=May 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511225218/http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2019712_2019703_2019664,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Apollo 7, 8, 9, and 10 crews were awarded the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Special Trustees Award for 1969.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39810658/the_charleston_daily_mail/|title=Television Industry Honors Astronauts|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=[[The Charleston Daily Mail]]|location=[[Charleston, West Virginia]]|date=June 9, 1969|via=Newspapers.com|page=11|access-date=November 29, 2019|archive-date=February 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204132907/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39810658/television-industry-honors-astronauts/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Lovell was one of ten Gemini astronauts inducted into the [[International Space Hall of Fame]] in 1982,<ref name=ishof /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28841417/albuquerque_journal/|title=Astronauts Laud Gemini as Precursor to Shuttle|last1=Shay|first1=Erin|newspaper=[[Albuquerque Journal]]|location=[[Albuquerque, New Mexico]]|date=October 3, 1982|page=3|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=February 25, 2019|archive-date=February 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190225161908/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28841417/albuquerque_journal/|url-status=live}}</ref> and, along with the other 12 Gemini astronauts, Lovell was inducted into the second [[U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame]] class in 1993.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.astronautscholarship.org/Astronauts/james-a-lovell/|title=James Lovell|publisher=Astronaut Scholarship Foundation|access-date=October 9, 2019|archive-date=October 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010064931/https://www.astronautscholarship.org/Astronauts/james-a-lovell/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33582881/florida_today/|title=Activities Honor Gemini Astronauts|newspaper=[[Florida Today]]|location=[[Cocoa, Florida]]|date=March 14, 1993|page=41|via=Newspapers.com|last1=Clark|first1=Amy|access-date=July 6, 2019|archive-date=July 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190706075054/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33582881/florida_today/|url-status=live}}</ref>
At a parade attended by 500,000 people, Lovell was conferred Chicago's medal of merit.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/clip/43182431/chicago_tribune/|title=Apollo 13 Astronauts Cheered by 500,000 in Triumphal City Visit|last1=Wolfe|first1=Sheila|date=May 2, 1970|newspaper=[[The Chicago Tribune]]|page=1|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=January 28, 2020|archive-date=January 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128205956/https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/clip/43182431/chicago_tribune/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Apollo 13 crew was awarded the City of New York Gold Medal, but Lovell had already received it for the Apollo 8 mission. In lieu of a second medal, the mayor gifted him a crystal paperweight that he "invented for the occasion".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1970/06/04/121526687.html?pageNumber=27|title=Mayor Honors Apollo 13 Crew at Lincoln Center|last1=Sauro|first1=William E.|date=June 4, 1970|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|page=27|access-date=November 19, 2019|archive-date=February 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204132905/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1970/06/04/121526687.html?pageNumber=27|url-status=live}}</ref> He was also awarded the 1970 City of [[Houston]] Medal for Valor for the mission.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39728029/clarionledger/|title=Space City Cover Society Plans Medal for Astronauts|newspaper=[[Clarion-Ledger]]|location=[[Jackson, Mississippi]]|date=May 5, 1970|page=7|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=November 28, 2019|archive-date=February 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204132906/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39728029/space-city-cover-society-plans-medal/|url-status=live}}</ref> He was awarded his second Haley Astronautics Award for his role on Apollo 13.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43588375/chicago_tribune/|title=Plane Talk|last1=Thomis|first1=Wayne|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=March 7, 1971|via=Newspapers.com|pages=3–21|access-date=February 4, 2020|archive-date=February 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200204072548/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43588375/chicago_tribune/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Lovell was featured on the cover of [[Time Magazine|''Time'' magazine]] on January 3, 1969, and April 27, 1970,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://search.time.com/results.html?N=46&Nty=1&Ns=p_date_range%7C1&Ntt=jim+lovell&x=45&y=14 |title=Time Magazine covers: Jim Lovell |publisher=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=June 9, 2013 |date=April 27, 1970 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018110543/http://search.time.com/results.html?N=46&Nty=1&Ns=p_date_range%7C1&Ntt=jim+lovell&x=45&y=14 |archive-date=October 18, 2015}}</ref> and on the cover of [[Life Magazine|''Life'']] magazine on April 24, 1970.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mVUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA28 |title=Life Magazine covers: Jim Lovell |magazine=Life |volume=68 |issue=15 |date=April 24, 1970 |access-date=December 15, 2021 |archive-date=February 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204132905/https://books.google.com/books?id=mVUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA28 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Lovell was a recipient of the University of Wisconsin's Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 1970. In his acceptance speech he emphasized the use of words over "rock throwing" to help attain political goals.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39809893/wisconsin_state_journal/|title=Lovell Says Talk, Don't Throw Rocks|last1=Greenwood|first1=Barbara|newspaper=[[Wisconsin State Journal]]|location=[[Madison, Wisconsin]]|date=May 17, 1970|page=2|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=November 29, 2019|archive-date=February 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204132906/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39809893/wisconsin-state-journal/|url-status=live}}</ref> He was awarded an honorary doctor of science degree at [[Western Michigan University]]'s summer commencement exercises in 1970.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1112&context=western_newsletter|title=Apollo 13 Astronauts Made Honorary WMU Alums|work=ScholarWorks at WMU|publisher=Western Michigan University|date=September 1970|access-date=September 12, 2019|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802141342/https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1112&context=western_newsletter|url-status=live}}</ref> He was also awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree at [[William Paterson University|William Paterson College]]'s commencement exercises in 1974.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30062830/the_heraldnews/|title=Ex-astronaut Talks to Grads at Ceremonies|newspaper=[[The Herald-News]]|location=[[Passaic, New Jersey]]|date=June 17, 1974|page=9|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=March 30, 2019|archive-date=March 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330032458/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30062830/the_heraldnews/|url-status=live}}</ref> Lovell was also granted an honorary [[doctor of science]] degree from University of Wisconsin–Madison, his original alma mater, speaking at the December 2016 commencement.<ref name="returnstoMadison"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Knutson |first1=Käri |title=Astronaut James Lovell to speak at UW-Madison's December commencement |url=https://news.wisc.edu/astronaut-james-lovell-to-speak-at-uw-madisons-december-commencement/ |website=University of Wisconsin-Madison |access-date=August 22, 2024 |date=October 26, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Honorary Degree Recipients |url=https://secfac.wisc.edu/awards-lectures/honorary-degrees/recipients/ |website=University of Wisconsin-Madison |access-date=August 22, 2024}}</ref>

===Tributes===
A small crater on the [[far side of the Moon]] was named [[Lovell (crater)|Lovell]] in his honor in 1970.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McElheny |first1=Victor K. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36981911/the_boston_globe/ |title=Armstrong, Aldrin, Collins on Moon Again—as Names |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=August 15, 1970|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=October 10, 2019|archive-date=October 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010071635/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36981911/the_boston_globe/ |page=16 |language=en |quote=Among the cosmonauts and other astronauts to have features ... named for them are: ... The crew of Apollo 8, first space-ship to go into orbit around the Moon in December 1968, William Anders, Frank Borman and James Lovell. |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Discovery World (museum)|Discovery World]] in Milwaukee was renamed The James Lovell Museum of Science, Economics and Technology. It was at the time located on James Lovell St., also named for Lovell.{{sfn|Hintz|2000|p=91}}<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Chicago Times |title=Milwaukee Museums Reveal a World of Science |first=Don |last=Davenport |date=February 14, 1997 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1997-02-14-9702140384-story.html |access-date=December 15, 2021 |archive-date=December 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214223753/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1997-02-14-9702140384-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center]] was completed in October 2010, merging the [[Naval Station Great Lakes|Naval Health Clinic Great Lakes]] and the North Chicago Veterans Affairs Medical Center.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/clip/36239172/chicago_tribune/|title=Namesake Brings Personal Touch to Lovell Center Fete|last1=Moran|first1=Dan|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=October 2, 2015|page=1-1|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=November 27, 2019|archive-date=September 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922185114/https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/clip/36239172/chicago_tribune/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Tom Hanks]] paid him a tribute following his death, saying "There are people who dare, who dream, and who lead others to places we would not go on our own. Jim Lovell&nbsp;[...] was that kind of guy."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=C. N. N. |date=2025-08-09 |title=Tom Hanks, who portrayed Jim Lovell in 'Apollo 13,' pays tribute to the late astronaut |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/article/tom-hanks-who-portrayed-jim-lovell-in-apollo-13-pays-tribute-to-the-late-astronaut/ |access-date=2025-08-10 |website=CTVNews }}</ref> Interim [[Administrator of NASA|NASA administrator]] [[Sean Duffy]] attributed Lovell's "calm strength under pressure" as having helped the Apollo 13 crew return safely to Earth.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Strickland |first1=Jackie |last2=Wattles |first2=Ashley |date=2025-08-08 |title=Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell dead at 97 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/08/science/jim-lovell-dead-nasa-apollo |access-date=2025-08-10 |website=CNN }}</ref>

===Organizations===
* Trustee of the [[National Space Institute]]<ref name="nasabio" />
* Chairman of the [[National Eagle Scout Association|National Eagle Scouts Association]]<ref name="nasabio" />
* Fellow in the [[Society of Experimental Test Pilots]]<ref name="nasabio" />
* Lovell was a Life-Trustee of the [[Adler Planetarium]],<ref>{{cite web |title=The Adler Mourns The Loss Of Captain Lovell  |publisher= Adler Planetarium |url=https://www.adlerplanetarium.org/blog/adler-mourns-the-loss-of-captain-james-a-lovell-jr/ |access-date=5 November 2025}}</ref> and donated many of his personal effects to the Planetarium's Collection, which are displayed in an exhibit.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mission Moon  |publisher= Adler Planetarium |url=https://www.adlerplanetarium.org/explore/exhibits/mission-moon/ |access-date=5 November 2025}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
About a month after Apollo 13 returned to Earth, Lovell and his crewmates, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert, appeared on ''[[The Tonight Show]]'' with host [[Johnny Carson]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39259606/florida_today/|title=Astronauts Shine on 'Tonight Show'|newspaper=[[Florida Today]]|location=[[Cocoa, Florida]]|date=June 5, 1970|last1=Bara|first1=Margot Reisel|page=12A|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=November 19, 2019|archive-date=February 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204132907/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39259606/florida-today/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1976, Lovell made a cameo appearance in the Nicolas Roeg film ''[[The Man Who Fell to Earth (film)|The Man Who Fell to Earth]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Brew & View to screen David Bowie's 'The Man Who Fell to Earth' |first=Nina |last=Metz |date=February 2, 2016 |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/ct-brew-view-david-bowie-s-man-who-fell-to-earth-20160202-column.html |access-date=November 5, 2021 |archive-date=November 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105201534/https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/ct-brew-view-david-bowie-s-man-who-fell-to-earth-20160202-column.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Lovell and [[Jeffrey Kluger]] wrote a 1994 book about the Apollo 13 mission, ''[[Lost Moon|Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13]]'',{{sfn|Lovell|Kluger|1995}} which [[Ron Howard]] adapted into the 1995 film ''[[Apollo 13 (film)|Apollo 13]]''. Lovell's first impression on being approached about the film was that [[Kevin Costner]] would be a good choice to portray him, given the physical resemblance,<ref name="DVDLovellCommentary">{{cite video | title = Apollo 13: 2-Disc Anniversary Edition (Disc 1), Special Features:Commentary track by Jim and Marilyn Lovell | medium = DVD  | publisher = [[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]]  | date=March 19, 2005}}</ref> but [[Tom Hanks]] was cast in the role.<ref>{{cite web|first=Laura|last=Myers|url=https://apnews.com/ea59ee78e4591ef1917ea1afa780dba6|title=Lovell Gets Medal of Honor, Confesses Costner His First Pick to Play Him|date=July 26, 1995|publisher=Associated Press|access-date=January 3, 2019|archive-date=December 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204035231/https://apnews.com/ea59ee78e4591ef1917ea1afa780dba6|url-status=dead}}</ref> To prepare, Hanks visited James and Marilyn Lovell at their home in Texas and flew with Lovell in his private airplane.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41169826/page_b5/|title=Apollo 13 Film Realistic|newspaper=[[The Herald-News]]|location=[[Passaic, New Jersey]]|date=June 30, 1995|page=B5|via=Newspapers.com|last1=Dunn|first1=Marcia|agency=Associated Press|access-date=December 27, 2019|archive-date=December 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227220340/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41169826/page_b5/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Kathleen Quinlan]] was nominated for a [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|supporting actress Oscar]] for her performance as Marilyn.<ref>{{cite news |first=Russ |last=Spencer |date=June 28, 1996 |title=Kathleen Quinlan is waiting for the right role  |publisher=Entertainment Weekly |url=https://ew.com/article/1996/06/28/kathleen-quinlan-waiting-right-role/ |access-date=March 25, 2023}}</ref>

In the film, Lovell has a cameo as the captain of {{USS|Iwo Jima|LPH-2|6}}. He can be seen as the naval officer shaking Hanks' hand, as Hanks speaks in [[voice-over]], in the scene where the astronauts come aboard the ''Iwo Jima''. The filmmakers offered to make Lovell's character an admiral aboard the ship, but Lovell said: "I retired as a captain and a captain I will be." He was cast as the ship's skipper, Captain [[Leland Kirkemo]]. Along with his wife Marilyn, who also has a cameo in the film, Lovell provided a commentary track on both the single disc and the two-disc special edition DVD.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36018365/the_los_angeles_times/|title=Human Dram of 'Apollo 13' Captured|last1=King|first1=Susan|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=March 29, 2005|page=E5|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=September 16, 2019|archive-date=February 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204132908/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36018365/the-los-angeles-times/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Tim Daly]] portrayed Lovell in the 1998 [[HBO]] miniseries ''[[From the Earth to the Moon (miniseries)|From the Earth to the Moon]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/03/movies/television-review-boyish-eyes-on-the-moon.html|title=Television Review; Boyish Eyes on the Moon|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 3, 1998|access-date=August 5, 2018|last1=James|first1=Caryn|archive-date=August 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180806061924/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/03/movies/television-review-boyish-eyes-on-the-moon.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Pablo Schreiber]] played him in the 2018 film about Armstrong, ''[[First Man (film)|First Man]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2017/10/ryan-gosling-first-man-pablo-schreiber-jim-lovell-astronaut-cast-1202180966/|last1=D'Alessandro|first1=Anthony|date=October 2, 2017|publisher=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|title=Damien Chazelle Astronaut Movie 'First Man' Finds Its Jim Lovell|access-date=September 15, 2019|archive-date=October 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020225043/https://deadline.com/2017/10/ryan-gosling-first-man-pablo-schreiber-jim-lovell-astronaut-cast-1202180966/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Notes ==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Courtney G. |last2=Grimwood |first2=James M. |last3=Swenson |first3=Loyd S. Jr. |title=Chariots for Apollo: A History of Manned Lunar Spacecraft |url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4205.pdf |access-date=July 20, 2010 |series=NASA History Series |date=1979 |publisher=Scientific and Technical Information Branch, NASA |location=Washington, D.C. |isbn=978-0-486-46756-6 |oclc=4664449 |lccn=79001042 |id=NASA SP-4205 |archive-date=January 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105151031/https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4205.pdf |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last=Burgess |first=Colin |author-link=Colin Burgess (author) |title=Selecting the Mercury Seven: The Search for America's First Astronauts|year=2011 |location=New York |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-4419-8405-0 |oclc=905280431}}
* {{cite book |last=Burgess |first=Colin |author-link=Colin Burgess (author) |title=Moon Bound: Choosing and Preparing NASA's Lunar Astronauts |location=New York |publisher=Springer |year=2013 |series=Springer-Praxis books in space exploration |isbn=978-1-4614-3854-0|oclc=905162781  }}
* {{cite book |last=Chaikin|first=Andrew |authorlink=Andrew Chaikin |title=[[A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts]] |location=London |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2007|isbn=978-0-14-311235-8 |oclc=1120564779}}
* {{cite book |last1=Ertel |first1=Ivan D. |last2=Newkirk |first2=Roland W. |last3=Brooks |first3=Courtney G. |title=The Apollo Spacecraft: A Chronology |url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4009vol4.pdf |access-date=January 29, 2008 |volume=IV |year=1978 |publisher=NASA |location=Washington, D.C. |id=NASA SP-4009 |oclc=23818 |lccn=69060008 |archive-date=December 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225230842/https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4009vol4.pdf |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Glenday |editor-first=Craig |editor-link=Craig Glenday |title=Guinness World Records 2010 |year=2010 |publisher=Bantam Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0-553-59337-2 |oclc=859600014}}
* {{Cite book |last=Goldberg |first=Jan |title=James Lovell: The Rescue of Apollo 13|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|year=2003|location=New York |isbn=978-0-8239-4459-0 |oclc=52775126}}
* {{cite book |last1=Hacker |first1=Barton C. |last2=Grimwood |first2=James M. |title=On the Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini |series=NASA History Series |id=NASA SP-4203 |year=2010 |orig-year=1977 |publisher=NASA History Division, Office of Policy and Plans |location=Washington, D.C. |isbn=978-0-16-067157-9 |oclc=945144787 |url=http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4203.pdf |access-date=April 8, 2018 |archive-date=December 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225230359/https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4203.pdf |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last=Hansen |first=James R. |title=First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong |location=New York |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4767-2781-3 |oclc=1029741947 }}
* {{cite book|last=Harland|first=David |author-link=David M. Harland|title=Exploring the Moon: The Apollo Expeditions|location=London; New York |publisher=Springer |year=1999 |isbn=978-1-85233-099-6 |oclc=982158259}}
* {{cite book |last=Hintz |first=Martin|title=Wisconsin Portraits: 55 People who Made a Difference |year=2000  |publisher=Big Earth Publishing |location=Black Earth, Wisconsin |isbn=978-0-915024-80-3 |oclc=44508414 }}
* {{cite book | last=Kluger | first= Jeffrey |author-link = Jeffrey Kluger | title = Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon | year = 2017 |location=New York | publisher = Henry Holt | isbn=978-1-62779-832-7 |oclc=1055851709 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Kluger |first1=Jeffrey |author-link=Jeffrey Kluger |first2=Jim |last2=Lovell |author-link2=Jim Lovell |name-list-style=amp |title=Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13 |publisher=Pocket Books |date=July 1995 |location=New York |isbn=0-671-53464-5 |oclc=1053909345  }}
* {{cite book |last=Koppel |first=Lily |author-link=Lily Koppel |title=The Astronaut Wives Club |title-link=The Astronaut Wives Club (book) |year=2013 |publisher=Grand Central Publishing |location=New York |isbn=978-1-4555-0325-4 |oclc=816563627  }}
* {{cite book | last1=Lovell | first1=Jim | last2=Kluger | first2=Jeffrey | title=Apollo 13: Lost Moon | location=New York | publisher=Pocket Books | year=1995 | isbn=978-0-671-53464-6 |oclc=977928719}}
* {{cite book |last= Moseley |first= Willie G. |date= 2011 |title= Smoke Jumper, Moon Pilot |publisher= Acclaim Press |location=Morley, Missouri |isbn=978-1-935001-76-8 |oclc=777483366}}
* {{cite book|title=Houston, We've Got a Problem|publisher=NASA Office of Public Affairs|id=EP-76|year=1970|url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19700021741.pdf|location=Washington, D.C.|ref={{sfnRef|NASA 1970}}|access-date=September 4, 2021|archive-date=September 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904222131/https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19700021741.pdf|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last=Orloff |first=Richard W. |title=Apollo by the Numbers: A Statistical Reference |url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/SP-4029.htm |access-date=June 12, 2013 |series=NASA History Series |year=2000 |publisher=NASA History Division, Office of Policy and Plans |location=Washington, D.C. |isbn=978-0-16-050631-4 |lccn=00061677 |id=NASA SP-2000-4029 |oclc=829406439 |archive-date=June 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606114042/http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/SP-4029.htm |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last=Reichl |first=Eugen |author-link=:de:Eugen Reichl |title=Project Gemini |series=America in Space |publisher=Schiffer Publishing |location=Atglen, Pennsylvania |isbn=978-0-7643-5070-2 |year=2016 |oclc=1026725515 }}
* {{cite book |author=Science and Technology Division, Library of Congress |title=Astronautics and Aeronautics: Chronology of Science, Technology, and Policy, 1970 |publisher=NASA |location=Washington, DC |year=1972 |id=SP-4015 |url=https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1970.pdf |access-date=August 8, 2025 |archive-date=September 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926104400/http://history.nasa.gov/AAchronologies/1970.pdf |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Slayton |first1=Donald K. "Deke" |author-link1=Deke Slayton |last2=Cassutt |first2=Michael |author-link2=Michael Cassutt |title=Deke! U.S. Manned Space: From Mercury to the Shuttle |year=1994 |edition=1st |publisher=Forge |location=New York |isbn=978-0-312-85503-1 |oclc=824183066}}
* {{cite book|last=Thompson|first=Neal|author-link=Neal Thompson (writer)|title=Light This Candle: The Life & Times of Alan Shepard, America's First Spaceman|edition=1st|date=2004|publisher=Crown Publishers|location=New York|isbn=0-609-61001-5|oclc=52631310|lccn=2003015688}}
* {{cite book | last=Townley | first=Alvin |author-link=Alvin Townley | date=December 26, 2006 | title=Legacy of Honor: The Values and Influence of America's Eagle Scouts | publisher=St. Martin's Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-312-36653-7 |oclc=890206472}}
* {{cite book |last=Wolfe |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Wolfe |title=The Right Stuff |title-link=The Right Stuff (book) |location=New York |year=1979 |publisher=Farrar, Straus, and Giroux |isbn=978-0-553-27556-8 |oclc=849889526  }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Jim Lovell}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip_15-hh6c24rw94 Interview with Jim Lovell for NOVA series: To the Moon] WGBH Educational Foundation, raw footage, 1998
* {{C-SPAN|40436}}
* {{IMDb name|0522554}}
* {{discogs artist|James Lovell}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Frank Borman]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Oldest Living American Astronaut|years=November 7, 2023 &ndash; August 7, 2025}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Buzz Aldrin]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{People who have traveled to the Moon|state=expanded}}
{{Congressional Space Medal of Honor}}
{{Time Persons of the Year 1951–1975}}
{{NASA Astronaut Group 2|state=autocollapse}}
{{Gemini program}}
{{U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|Spaceflight|United States}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lovell, Jim}}
[[Category:Jim Lovell| ]]
[[Category:1928 births]]
[[Category:2025 deaths]]
[[Category:1965 in spaceflight]]
[[Category:1966 in spaceflight]]
[[Category:1968 in spaceflight]]
[[Category:1970 in spaceflight]]
[[Category:Apollo 8]]
[[Category:Apollo 13]]
[[Category:American people of Canadian descent]]
[[Category:American people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:American people of Czech descent]]
[[Category:American test pilots]]
[[Category:Apollo program astronauts]]
[[Category:Aviators from Ohio]]
[[Category:Collier Trophy recipients]]
[[Category:Harmon Trophy winners]]
[[Category:Knights of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Cleveland]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Milwaukee]]
[[Category:NASA Astronaut Group 2]]
[[Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients]]
[[Category:Project Gemini astronauts]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Air Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal]]
[[Category:United States Astronaut Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:United States Naval Academy alumni]]
[[Category:United States Naval Aviators]]
[[Category:United States Naval Test Pilot School alumni]]
[[Category:United States Navy astronauts]]
[[Category:United States Navy captains]]
[[Category:University of Southern California alumni]]
[[Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni]]