Ken ‘TK’ Mattingly, an American astronaut who visited the moon in 1972, passed away at the age of 87 on Tuesday, NASA confirms today.

Mattingly was most famous for his key role in securing the safe return of the Apollo 13 crew after he was removed from the crew due to exposure to German Measles.

He later took on the role of command module pilot on the Apollo 16 mission and was the spacecraft commander in two Space Shuttle missions.

More to follow…