William Anders, an astronaut on Apollo 8, died at the age of 90.
He was remembered for going to the moon and taking a famous picture of Earth.
It was Friday, and Anders was flying a small plane when it suddenly went down in the water between the Orcas and Jones Islands in Washington state.
Someone saw the Beechcraft A A 45, which is also known as a T-34, plane crash at 11:40 a.m. local time and reported it.
Search and rescue teams were sent out, and Anders’ death was confirmed by his son Greg on Friday evening.
It’s terrible for the family. He flew very well. “He will be missed,” the family said in a statement that NBC affiliate KING in the area got.
The plane nose-dived toward the water in the video before it swerved and skidded on the water`s surface.
It crashed into the water and turned yellow. It then sank, leaving a dark cloud of smoke behind it.
After the Apollo 8 mission, Anders was one of the first three people to see the moon.
He took the picture known as “Earthrise” while he was there, which shows the view from the moon.
A lot of people have paid tribute to the late astronaut, and many remember him for the famous picture he took from the moon.
Senator Mark Kelly, who was an astronaut himself, sent his condolences on X, which used to be Twitter.
“With his famous Earthrise photo from Apollo 8, Bill Anders changed the way we see our planet and ourselves for good.” He made me and many other astronauts and explorers want to do great things. “My thoughts are with his friends and family,” Kelly wrote.
“Apollo8’s lunar module pilot Bill Anders has flown west. He was the one who took one of the most powerful pictures ever taken of Earthrise.” “Take it easy, Sir,” someone else wrote on X.
“Great photographer and astronaut. Someone else said, “A hero for me and many others.”
He did what he loved, which is good to know. “He’s best known for taking this picture on Apollo 8, his trip to the moon,” someone else wrote.
“We now only have six survivors out of the 24 humans who flew to the area around the Moon,” someone else said.
CARRYING A STORY
In 1964, NASA chose Anders to be an astronaut.
Dosimetry, radiation effects, and environmental control were some of his duties.
That year, Anders was a pilot for the lunar module on Apollo 8.
As a back-up pilot, he flew on Gemini XI and Apollo 11.
When Apollo 8 left Earth’s gravity on December 21, 1968, it was the first spacecraft with people on board to reach the Moon.
It took Anders, Jim Lovell, and Frank Borman, who died in November 2023, 68 hours to make the trip.
Fox affiliate KHON reported that Anders thought the picture he took on this mission was his most important contribution to the space program because of its effects on the environment and on his mind.
KHON reports that he said about taking the famous picture, “We’d been going backwards and upside down, didn’t really see the Earth or the Sun, and when we rolled around and came around, we saw the first Earthrise.”
“That was by far the most impressive thing.” It was very different to see this very small, bright object that looked like a Christmas tree ornament rising above the harsh, ugly landscape of the moon.
In 1988, Anders left the Air Force Reserves.
He became chairman and CEO of General Dynamics Corporation in 1991. He stepped down two years later, but stayed on as chairman until 1994.
He moved to Orcas Island with his wife Valerie in 1993. Together, they had six children and thirteen grandchildren.
