NASA Apollo 8 astronaut took the famous “Earthrise” photo while orbiting the moon

June 30, 2024

Apollo astronaut Bill Anders, the photographer of one of the most famous images ever taken in space, has died at the age of 90.

Anders died in a plane crash in Washington state on Friday. He was piloting a Beech A45 when it crashed into the water off Jones Island. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident.

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In a statement to X, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Bill Anders “gave humanity one of the greatest gifts an astronaut can give. He traveled to the threshold of the moon and helped us all see something else: ourselves. He embodied the lessons and purpose of exploration. We will miss him.”

Anders flew into space only once. He was part of the crew of the first manned mission beyond low Earth orbit. The flight reached the moon on Christmas Eve 1968.

The crew had taken mostly black and white pictures. But the earthrise caught Anders’ attention.

Over the onboard recorder, Anders can be heard asking his fellow astronaut Jim Lovell: “Give me a roll of paint quickly. Would you? … Quickly. Quickly.”

The iconic photo was immortalized on a postage stamp as well as on countless magazine covers and in newspapers.