The astronaut who captured the famous first color photograph of Earth from space has died in a plane crash in the United States.
William Anders, 90, was the only person aboard the small plane he was piloting when it plummeted off the coast of Jones Island, near Washington state, on Friday.
His son, Greg Anders, confirmed the death, adding that the family is “devastated.”
“He was a great driver and we will miss him very much,” he added.
Anders circled the moon with Apollo 8 in December 1968, the first manned space flight to leave Earth’s orbit.
During the flight, Anders captured what became one of the most iconic photographs ever taken: an image of the Earth rising above the lunar horizon.
He said in 1997 POT Oral history interview, he thought there was a one in three chance of the crew not returning and an equal chance of success.
Christopher Columbus may have sailed against worse odds, he added.
But he said he felt there were important national, patriotic and exploratory reasons to move forward with the mission.
“We had been going backwards and forwards, we didn’t really see the Earth or the Sun, and when we turned around and saw the first rise of the Earth,” he added.
“That was by far the most impressive thing.
“Seeing this very delicate and colorful orb, which to me looked like a Christmas tree ornament, emerging over this austere and ugly lunar landscape, it was really a contrast.”
That photo is credited with sparking the global environmental movement by showing how delicate and isolated the Earth looked from space.
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Their mission paved the way for the first Apollo 11 moon landing seven months later, when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon.
He was also praised for lifting the national spirit at the end of one of America’s most traumatic years, in which Americans were shaken by the Vietnam War and riots and killings at home.
Senator Mark Kelly, who is also a retired NASA astronaut, wrote in X: “Bill Anders forever changed our perspective of our planet and ourselves with his famous Apollo 8 sunrise photo.
“He inspired me and generations of astronauts and explorers. My thoughts are with his family and friends.”
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