Apollo 8 Astronaut William Anders Dies In Plane Accident

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JAKARTA - William Anders, NASA astronaut part of the Apollo 8 crew in 1968 died in a plane crash in the state of Washington. William Anders died in 90 years

"My father died in a plane crash in the San Juan Islands," his son, Gregory Anders, told CNN quoted on Saturday, June 8.

San Juan County Sheriff's Office said in its press release the plane that Anders crashed off the coast of Jones Island.

Reportedly the old model plane flew from north to south then entered the waters near the northern tip of Jones Island and sank. San Juan County Sheriff Eric Peter via email told CNN the only latest information he got was a "the dive team arrived at the location and is currently searching."

"The family is devastated and saddened by the loss of a great pilot," said Anders' son.

William Anders, born on October 17, 1933, in Hong Kong, graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1955.

Anders served as a fighter pilot on the interception squadron of all-weather Air Defense Command in California and Iceland, according to NASA and the US Navy Academy.

While at the Air Force Weapon Laboratory in New Mexico, Anders is responsible for managing the nuclear reactor protective program and radiation effects, according to its NASA biography.

He was selected in 1964 as an astronaut by NASA and served as a backup pilot for the Gemini 11 mission in 1966 and the Apollo 11 flight in 1969. Anders recorded more than 6,000 hours of flight time, according to NASA.

Anders and fellow astronaut Jim Lovell and mission commander Frank Borman, who died in November 2023, flew on a first-month orbital mission in December 1968 with Apollo 8.

Anders served as a pilot for the lunar module for the historic flight.

From the spacecraft, Anders captured an iconic image of Earth showing the lunar surface on the foreground during the Apollo 8 flight on Christmas Eve 1968, titled Earthrise.

"We've come so far to explore the moon, and the most important thing is that we found Earth," Anders said.

The photo, described as legendary by NASA in a video of respect for Anders, was taken as the crew took pictures of the lunar surface for geological analysis, Anders said in an earlier interview with NASA.

"Suddenly I looked out the window, and this beautiful ball appeared," Anders explained about Earth.

"For me, this makes me aware that the earth is small, fragile, and not the center of the universe," said Anders.