Oscar -winning actor Tom Hanks honored James Lovell, the American astronaut who portrayed in “Apollo 13”, with a sincere tribute to Instagram to his courage, curiosity and strength. Lovell died Thursday at Lake Forest, Illinois. He was 97 years old.

“There are people who dare, who dream and lead others to the places where we would not go on our own,” Hanks wrote on Friday. “Jim Lovell, who for a long time had gone further to space and for longer than any other person on our planet, was that type of type.

“His many trips around the earth and to be very close to the moon were not made for wealth or celebrities, but because challenges like those that feed the course of being alive, and who better than Jim Lovell to make those trips,” he continued.

Lovell embarked on his career in NASA long before technology billionaires or millenary pop stars could launch space privately. He orbit the moon during the Apollo 8 mission of 1968 and proved to be a hero while aboard the Apollo 13 in 1970.

The trip initially intended to be a lunar landing, but when an oxygen tank exploded on board, the crew was forced to leave the mission. As commander, Lovell saved her crew using the lunar module as an almost frozen lifeboat back to earth.

Hanks pointed out in his tribute that Lovell died during a particular moon phase, and concluded on Friday: “On this full moon night, he passes to the heavens, to the cosmos, to the stars. God accelerates you, on this next trip, Jim Lovell.”

Hanks, Lovell and then President Bill Clinton during an honorary event of the White House in 1995.
Hanks, Lovell and then President Bill Clinton during an honorary event of the White House in 1995.

Wilfredo Lee/News

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Lovell received the Congress Honor Medal of then President Bill Clinton in 1995, and told Conan O’Brien that he invited Hanks to his house before “Apollo 13” began to film, even letting him fly his plane at night to help the actor to portray more realistic as a pilot.

The actor was not the only Oscar winner to commemorate Lovell. The director of “Apollo 13”, Ron Howard, shared a photo carousel on Friday on Instagram with his own tribute, writing in the legend that he simply knows Lovell “has been a great honor.”

“His combination of intellect, courage and commitment to duty made him one of the most notable people I have met,” Howard wrote. “His support for our efforts to make films inspired authenticity and raised our process in many ways. Thank you, Lord, for your service to our country and humanity.”