Jim Lovell Biography, Net Worth, Wife & Lifestyle | Apollo 13 Hero’s Life Story

Jim Lovell Biography, Net Worth, Wife & Lifestyle | Apollo 13 Hero’s Life Story

“Things You May Not Know About Jim Lovell”

• Fact One: Jim Lovell is the only astronaut to fly to the Moon twice — on Apollo Eight and Apollo Thirteen — without actually landing on it. That’s a distinction no one else in history shares.

• Fact Two: The famous phrase from Apollo Thirteen, “Houston, we have a problem,” is actually a slight misquote. Lovell’s real words were, “Ah, Houston, we’ve had a problem.”

• Fact Three: Lovell’s high school yearbook predicted his future in an eerie way — under his photo, it simply read “To the Moon.”

• Fact Four: During Gemini Seven, Lovell spent fourteen days in a spacecraft roughly the size of a phone booth with fellow astronaut Frank Borman. They had no shower, no privacy, and barely enough space to stretch.

• Fact Five: In the movie Apollo Thirteen, Tom Hanks played Lovell — but Jim Lovell himself made a cameo as the captain of the recovery ship that greets the astronauts after splashdown.

• Fact Six: After retiring from NASA, Lovell didn’t just fade into the background. He co-owned a restaurant in Illinois called “Lovell’s of Lake Forest,” which displayed real Apollo mission memorabilia.

• Fact Seven: Despite his legendary status, Lovell remained deeply humble. When asked once if he was a hero, he replied, “I’m just a lucky guy who had a great crew and a great team on the ground.”