The former Navy pilot, who was portrayed by actor Tom Hanks in the 1995 movie "Apollo 13," died in a Chicago suburb on Thursday, the US space agency said in a statement. 

The astronaut's "life and work inspired millions of people across the decades," NASA said, praising his "character and steadfast courage."

Lovell travelled to the Moon twice but never walked on the lunar surface. Yet he is considered one of the greats of the US space program after rescuing a mission that teetered on the brink of disaster as the world watched in suspense far below.

"There are people who dare, who dream, and who lead others to the places we would not go on our own," Hanks said in an Instagram post. "Jim Lovell, who for a long while had gone farther into space and for longer than any other person of our planet, was that kind of guy."

'Houston, we've had a problem'

Launched on April 11, 1970, nine months after Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon, Apollo 13 was intended to be humanity's third lunar landing. The plan was that Lovell would walk on the Moon.

The mission, which was also crewed by astronauts Jack Swigert and Fred Haise, was already considered fairly routine.

Then an oxygen tank exploded on the way there. The disaster prompted Swigert to famously tell mission control: "Houston, we've had a problem." 

Lovell then repeated the phrase, which is slightly different to the one used in the Ron Howard movie, according to NASA.

The three astronauts and crew on the ground scrambled to find a solution. 

The United States followed the chaotic odyssey from the ground, fearing that the country could lose its first astronauts in space.

Around 200,000 miles from Earth, the crew was forced to shelter in their Lunar Module, slingshot around the Moon and rapidly return to Earth.

The composed leadership of Lovell, who was nicknamed "Smilin' Jim", and the ingenuity of the NASA team on the ground managed to get the crew safely back home.

Lovell was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, but never returned to space.

'Our Hero'

Born on March 25, 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio, Lovell worked as a Navy pilot before joining NASA.

He was one of three astronauts who became the first people to orbit the Moon during the Apollo 8 mission in 1968. 

The mission also took the famous image "Earthrise", in which the blue planet peeks out from beyond the Moon.

Lovell's family said they were "enormously proud of his amazing life and career," according to a statement released by NASA.

"But, to all of us, he was Dad, Granddad, and the Leader of our family. Most importantly, he was our Hero," the statement added.

"We will miss his unshakeable optimism, his sense of humor, and the way he made each of us feel we could do the impossible."