The former astronaut William «Bill» Anders died in a plane crash that occurred on June 7 in the sea area between the United States and Canada in Washington State. Anders was 90 years old, had participated in only one mission, Apollo 8, between 21 and 27 December 1968, one of the most important in the history of space exploration. Anders was at the controls of a Beechcraft AA 45, also known as T-34, which, for reasons still unknown at 11.40am (local time) on Friday, crashed vertically not far from the coast of Jones Island in the San Francisco archipelago. Juan in front of incredulous witnesses.
Apollo 8
Apollo 8 was the first crewed NASA mission to launch Saturn V rocket, the first with a human crew to leave Earth orbit and the first with astronauts on board to enter lunar orbit and circle our natural satellite. Anders, together with his companions Frank Borman and James Lovell, were the first human beings to have seen with their own eyes the “hidden face of the Moon”, that is, the lunar hemisphere that cannot be observed from Earth. The success of Apollo 8 was instrumental in paving the way for Apollo 11 to land on the Moon.
Earthrise
Anders is also famous for taking the photo named Earthrise (Earth rising) in which the Earth is seen rising for the first time against the background of the Moon. Image reproduced countless times and even ended up on a United States Postal stamp.
