Astronaut Anders, who took iconic ‘Earthrise’ photo, dies in plane crash

Seattle, June 8

Retired Maj Gen William Anders, the former Apollo 8 astronaut who took the iconic “Earthrise” photo showing the planet as a shadowed blue marble from space in 1968, was killed when the plane he was piloting alone plummeted into the waters off the San Juan Islands in Washington state. He was 90. His son, retired Air Force Lt Col Greg Anders, confirmed the death.

“The family is devastated,” Greg Anders said. “He was a great pilot and we will miss him terribly.” William Anders has said the photo was his most significant contribution to the space programme, given the ecological philosophical impact it had, along with making sure the Apollo 8 command module and service module worked.

The photograph, the first colour image of Earth from space, is one of the most important photos in modern history for the way it changed how humans viewed the planet. The photo is credited with sparking the global environmental movement for showing how delicate and isolated Earth appeared from space.

Arizona Sen Mark Kelly, who is also a retired NASA astronaut, wrote on the social platform X, “Bill Anders forever changed our perspective of our planet and ourselves with his famous Earthrise photo on Apollo 8.

He inspired me and generations of astronauts and explorers. My thoughts are with his family and friends.”

A report came in around 11.40 am that an older-model plane crashed into the water and sank near the north end of Jones Island, San Juan County Sheriff Eric Peter said. Only the pilot was on board the Beech A45 airplane at the time, according to the Federal Aviation Association.

William Anders said in an 1997 NASA oral history interview that he didn’t think the Apollo 8 mission was risk-free but there were important national, patriotic and exploration reasons for going ahead. He estimated there was about one in three chance that the crew wouldn’t make it back and the same chance the mission would be a success and the same chance that the mission wouldn’t start to begin with. — AP