John Young, a US astronaut and moonwalker, passes away at 87

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John Young, a US astronaut and moonwalker, passes away at 87
John Young, a US astronaut and moonwalker, passes away at 87

Boston : John Young, a legendary US astronaut who has been in space for six times, orbited Moon and also walked on its surface, passed away at the age of 87, NASA officially announced on Saturday.

He had been ill from past few months due complications from pneumonia, the space agency said.

"NASA and the world have lost a pioneer," agency administrator Robert Lightfoot said in a statement. "We will stand on his shoulders as we look toward the next human frontier."

John Young used to stay in Houston suburbs, minutes away from the NASA space research centre.

He once held the world record for total time spent in space, NASA said.

Young orbited the moon in Apollo 10, and made a lunar landing with Apollo 16. "In an iconic display of test pilot 'cool,' he landed the space shuttle (STS-9) with a fire in the back end," NASA said.

"He was in every way the 'astronaut's astronaut,'" Lightfoot said. But he was also described as a savvy engineer and a "test pilot's test pilot."