Astronaut James Lovell, who was commander of the 1970 Apollo 13 mission that managed to get back to earth safely after an oxygen tank explosion, has died. He was 97.

Of the 24 Nasa astronauts who travelled to the Moon in the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s, just six remain.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -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, NASA said on Friday.