Bill Anders, the Apollo 8 astronaut who took one of the most famous photographs of planet Earth, died at age 90 in a plane crash.

Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders, who took one of the most famous photographs taken in outer space, died in a plane crash at the age of 90.

Authorities say the small plane he was piloting crashed into the sea off Washington state.

Anders’ son Greg confirmed his father’s body was found Friday afternoon.

“The family is devastated. He was an excellent pilot. “We will miss him,” the family said in a statement.

Anders, who was the lunar module pilot for the Apollo 8 mission, took the iconic photo. photograph of “Earthrise”, one of the most memorable and inspiring images of our planet from space.

The photo was taken on Christmas Eve during the 1968 mission.first manned space flight to leave Earth and reach the Moonthe image shows the planet rising above the horizon above the arid lunar surface.

Anders later called it his most significant contribution to the space program.

Many believe this image motivated the global environmental movement and led to the creation of Earth Day, an annual event aimed at increasing activism and awareness about caring for the planet.

Speaking about this moment, Anders said: “We came here to explored the Moon, and the most important thing we discovered was the Earth.”

Anders also served as a backup pilot for the Apollo 11 mission.

After it exit from the space program in 1969, The former astronaut worked primarily in the aerospace industry for several decades. He also served as US Ambassador to Norway for a year in the 1970s.

But he is best remembered for the Apollo 8 mission and the iconic photo he took from space.

“See yourself”

“In 1968, during the flight of Apollo 8,” Bill Anders offered humanity one of the most valuable gifts an astronaut can give.

“It reached the threshold of the Moon and helped us all see something else: it helped us see ourselves,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement.

In a previous interview, Anders stated that he took this photo after “learning a little photography.”

“We were in lunar orbit, upside down and backwards, so During the first circles we did not see the Earth and then we turned the spaceship around to move forward, and suddenly out of the corner of my eye I saw this color. “It was shocking,” he said.

“So I just shot, moved the camera, shot, moved it.”

Mark Kelly, a former astronaut who is now a U.S. senator from Arizona, said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that Anders inspired him “and generations of astronauts and explorers. My thoughts are with his family and friends.” .

Authorities said Anders’ plane crashed around 11:40 a.m. PT.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the 90-year-old man was flying a Beechcraft AA 45, also known as a T-34. The agency noted that The plane crashed about 25 meters off the coast of Johns Island.

Philip Person, who witnessed the accident, told King-TV.

According to him, the plane began to make a loop and turned over.

“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” Person explained to a local news station. “It looked like something out of a movie or special effects. With a big explosion and flames and everything.”

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