American astronaut Jim Lovell, commander of the failed 1970 mission to the moon that nearly ended in disaster but became an inspirational saga of survival and the basis for the hit movie "Apollo 13," has died at the age of 97,

Once America's most experienced astronaut, Apollo 13's Jim Lovell, who died at 97, was the first to visit the moon twice.

Jim Lovell, the astronaut, who has died aged 97, was commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission in April 1970, which turned into one of the most dramatic in the history of space flight.