Tom Hanks honoured the memory of astronaut Jim Lovell, who passed away at the age of 97, with an emotional tribute.
On Friday, August 8, the Forrest Gump actor, who played Lovell in the 1995 movie Apollo 13, shared an Instagram post where he remembered the renowned space explorer in sweet words.
Hanks began his statement, noting, "There are people who dare, who dream, and who lead others to the places we would not go on our own."
He added, "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."
The 1995 docudrama was based on the real-life lunar mission of 1970, where Lovell served as a mission commander, and the flight was met with a disaster as its oxygen tank exploded in space.
He navigated the dangerous situation with a collected mindset, returning safely to earth, making it his last space flight.
Further, Hanks shared, "His many voyages around Earth and on to so-very-close to the moon were not made for riches or celebrity, but because such challenges as those are what fuels the course of being alive — and who better than Jim Lovell to make those voyages."
The 69-year-old actor concluded, "On this night of a full moon, he passes on — to the heavens, to the cosmos, to the stars. God speed you, on this next voyage, Jim Lovell."
Notably, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Apollo 13 this year, the movie will be re-released in IMAX theatres starting September 19.
The movie was adapted by William Broyles Jr and Al Reinert from Lost Moon, the 1994 non-fiction book by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger.
