SEATTLE (AP) — Retired Maj. Gen. William Anders, the former Apollo 8 astronaut who took the iconic “Earthrise” photo showing the planet as a shadowed blue marble seen from space in 1968, was killed Friday when the plane he was piloting alone crashed into the waters off the San Juan Islands in Washington state. He was 90 years old. His son, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Greg Anders, confirmed the death to the Associated Press.
“The family is devastated,” Greg Anders said. “He was a great driver and we will miss him very much.”
William Anders said the photo was his most significant contribution to the space program, given the ecological philosophical impact it had, as well as ensuring that Apollo 8’s command module and service module worked.
The photograph, the first color image of Earth seen from space, is one of the most important photos in modern history for the way it changed the way humans viewed the planet. The photo is credited with sparking the global environmental movement by showing how delicate and isolated Earth looked from space.
Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, who is also a retired NASA astronaut, wrote on social platform X: “Bill Anders forever changed our perspective of our planet and ourselves with his famous photo of the birth of the Earth on Apollo 8. He It inspired me and generations of astronauts and explorers. My thoughts are with his family and friends.”
A report came in about 11:40 a.m. that an older model plane had crashed into the water and sank near the north end of Jones Island, San Juan County Sheriff Eric Peter said.
Only the pilot was aboard the Beech A45 plane at the time, according to the Federal Aviation Association.
The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA are investigating the crash.
William Anders said in a 1997 NASA oral history interview that he did not think the Apollo 8 mission was risk-free, but that there were important national, patriotic, and exploration reasons to proceed. He estimated that there was about a one in three chance that the crew would not make it back and the same chance that the mission would be a success and the same chance that the mission would not start. He said he suspects Christopher Columbus sailed with worse odds.
He told how the Earth seemed fragile and seemingly physically insignificant, but it was still home.
“We were walking backwards and upside down, we didn’t really see the Earth or the Sun, and when we rolled over and turned around and we saw the first Earthrise,” he said. “That was certainly by far the most impressive thing. Seeing this very delicate and colorful orb that to me looked like a Christmas tree ornament rising above this ugly and stark lunar landscape was really contrasting.
Anders and his wife, Valerie, founded the Heritage Flight Museum in Washington state in 1996. It is currently located at a regional airport in Burlington and features 15 aircraft, several vintage military vehicles, a library and many artifacts donated by veterans, according to museum website. Two of his sons helped him run it.
The couple moved to Orcas Island in the San Juan Archipelago in 1993 and maintained a second home in their hometown of San Diego, according to a biography on the museum’s website. They had six children and 13 grandchildren.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
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