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– William Anders, seated left, with Frank Borman and James Lovell during the Apollo 8 mission.
A tragic accident. Famous American astronaut William Anders dies In a plane crash Friday June 7, reports BFMTV. He was 90 years old. He particularly distinguished himself thanks to his photograph of planet Earth which traveled around the world. His son announced his death on American television and said the crash took place in the San Juan Islands, in the northwest of the United States.
William Anders was on board the Apollo 8 mission, the first to orbit the Moon, in 1968. During this space trip, the astronaut managed to take a photo of the Earth, on which we see the day rising, with the lunar surface in the foreground. The photograph was titled “The earthworm”. “He traveled to the edge of the Moon and helped us all see something else: ourselves”wrote NASA administrator Bill Nelson on X.
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William Anders, former fighter pilot who made history
On social networks, the famous photo was massively shared to pay tribute to him. US Senator Mark Kelly, also a former astronaut, claimed that William Anders “forever changed our view of our planet”adding that he had inspired “a generation of astronauts”. Before traveling into space, he first served as a fighter pilot in the American army. During the Apollo 8 mission, he was accompanied by two other astronauts, Frank Borman and James Lovell.
