The man in the middle of the photo above, seen squinting as he looks into the camera, is William Anders, one of the crew members of NASA’s Apollo 8 mission. On Friday, the former astronaut and pilot died at age 90, while doing what he loved most — flying:
The victim in a fatal plane crash Friday in Washington state has been identified as Retired Maj. Gen. William Anders, the former Apollo 8 astronaut who took the iconic “Earthrise” photo, his son Greg Anders confirmed to The Associated Press.
Just before noon, rescue crews responded to reports of a plane crash in Washington state between Orcas and Jones Island, the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest confirmed.
“The family is devastated,” Greg Anders told the AP. “He was a great pilot, and we will miss him terribly.”
Anders is known for being the astronaut who captured awe-inspiring images of Earth from space:
Hearing the pilot that…
