James Lovell, the commander of Apollo 13 who helped turn a failed moon mission into a triumph of on-the-fly can-do engineering, has died. He was 97. Lovell died Thursday in Lake Forest, Illinois, NASA said in a statement on Friday. “Jim’s character and steadfast courage helped our nation reach the Moon and turned a potential tragedy into a success from which we learned an enormous amount,” NASA said. "We mourn his passing even as we celebrate his achievements.” MORE: https://www.wthr.com/article/news/nation-world/apollo-13-moon-mission-leader-james-lovell-dies-at-97/507-96c1d905-23e4-441d-95f1-9c28c361482d