NASA Apollo 8 Astronaut Bill Anders Captured Iconic ‘Earthrise’ December 24, 1968

Anders passed away on June 7, 2024

(NASA) – NASA astronaut Bill Anders took this iconic image of Earth rising over the Moon’s horizon on December 24, 1968.

Anders, lunar module pilot on the Apollo 8 mission, and fellow astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell became the first humans to orbit the Moon and the first to witness the sight.

After becoming a fighter pilot in the Air Force, Anders was selected as an astronaut by NASA.

He was backup pilot for the Gemini XI and Apollo 11 flights, and he was lunar module pilot for Apollo 8 – the first lunar orbit mission in December 1968.

Anders passed away on June 7, 2024.

Retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. William Anders, 90, the Apollo 8 astronaut who took the iconic “Earthrise” photo on Christmas Eve in 1968 showing the earth as a shadowed blue marble from space, was killed Friday when the plane he was piloting solo crashed into the waters off the San Juan Islands in Washington state.

Only the pilot was on board the Beech A45 airplane at the time, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, which is investigating the crash.

“The family is devastated,” said his son, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Greg Anders said. “He was a great pilot and we will miss him terribly.”

The “Earthrise” photograph, the first color image of Earth from space, is one of the most important photos in history because of the way it changed how humans viewed the planet.

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