On Dec. 24, 1968, as the Apollo 8 spacecraft was rotating, astronaut Bill Anders took this iconic photo of Earth rising over the moon's horizon. | © Bill Anders/NASA / USA TODAY NETWORK
(Seattle, WA) – William Anders, an astronaut on the Apollo 8 mission, was killed on Friday in a small plane crash. Anders was alone piloting the plane when it went down in the waters off of the San Juan Islands.
Anders was part of the ambitious Apollo 8 crew, the first group of men to travel to the moon and back, which set the stage for the Apollo moon landing. He took the famous “Earthrise” picture showing the view of the planet from the moon’s surface.
Anders also was appointed as the first chair to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which is in charge of nuclear and environmental safety protocols. He was 90 years old. The FAA is investigating the crash.
