William Anders, the celebrated astronaut who captured the famous “Earthrise” photo, has died at 90.
The former NASA astronaut was killed in a plane crash off Washington’s coast.
On a quiet Friday morning, tragedy struck when Anders, alone piloting a small plane, crashed into the sea off Washington State, Breitbart reported.
Anders was 90 years old at the time of the accident.
He was renowned not just for his aerospace achievements but also for his pivotal role in capturing one of the most significant photographs of the 20th century.
Born on October 17, 1933, in Hong Kong, Anders’ journey to the stars began with his education at the U.S. Naval Academy.
His military training was followed by a master’s degree in nuclear engineering.
His selection for NASA’s astronaut corps would mark the beginning of a historic chapter in space exploration.
In December 1968, Anders, along with fellow astronauts Frank Borman and James Lovell, embarked on the Apollo 8 mission.
This mission was the first to fly humans to the Moon, where Anders would take the iconic “Earthrise” photograph during one of their lunar orbits.
This image, showing Earth peeping over the Moon’s desolate horizon, has since been heralded as a moment