Bill Anders, Apollo 8 Astronaut, Commemorated by NASA

We mourn the passing of Apollo astronaut William "Bill" Anders at the age of 90.

As the backup pilot for the Gemini XI and Apollo 11 missions, and the lunar module pilot for Apollo 8 — the first mission to orbit the Moon — Anders made significant contributions to space exploration. On Christmas Eve in 1968, he captured the iconic Earthrise photo, turning his camera toward Earth and giving us one of the most memorable images in history.