William Anders, the former Apollo 8 astronaut who took the iconic photo ‘Earthrise’ in which the Earth appears as a shadowed blue marble from space in 1968, died on Friday when the small plane he was piloting alone crashed in waters off the San Juan Islands, in Washington state. He was 90 years old.
His son, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Greg Anders, confirmed his death to The Associated Press.
“The family is devastated,” he said. “He was a great driver and we will miss him terribly.”
William Anders, a retired major general, went on to say that the photo was his most significant contribution to the space program, as was making sure the Apollo 8 command module and service module worked.
The photograph, the first color image of Earth from space, is one of the most important in modern history for the way it changed how humans viewed the planet. The image is credited with kick-starting the global environmental movement by showing how delicate and isolated the Earth looked from space.
NASA administrator and former senator Bill Nelson said Anders embodied the lessons and purpose of exploration.
“He traveled to the threshold of the Moon and helped all of us see something else: ourselves,” Nelson wrote on the social platform X.
Anders took the photo during the crew’s fourth orbit around the Moon, frantically switching from black-and-white to color film.
“My God, look at that picture over there!” Anders said. “Here comes the Earth. Wow, how pretty!”
The Apollo 8 mission in December 1968 was the first human spaceflight to leave low Earth orbit and travel to the Moon and back. It was NASA’s boldest and perhaps most dangerous voyage up to that point and one that set the stage for the Apollo moon landing seven months later.
The Apollo 8 mission in December 1968 was the first human spaceflight to leave low Earth orbit and travel to the Moon and back. It was NASA’s boldest and perhaps most dangerous voyage up to that point and one that set the stage for the Apollo moon landing seven months later.
“Bill Anders forever changed our perspective of our planet and ourselves with his famous photo ‘Earthrise’ on Apollo 8,” Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, who is also a retired NASA astronaut, wrote in X. “It inspired me and generations of astronauts and explorers. “My thoughts are with his family and friends.”
A report came in around 11:40 a.m. that an older-model small plane crashed into the water and sank near the north end of Jones Island, San Juan County Sheriff Eric Peter said. Greg Anders confirmed to KING-TV that his father’s body was recovered Friday afternoon.
Only the pilot was aboard the Beech A45 small plane at the time, according to the Federal Aviation Association.
The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA are investigating the crash.
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