Astronaut William Anders, a Grossmont High Grad Who Took Famous Earth Photo, Dead at 90
Astronaut William Anders, who took what may be the most famous photo of Earth during the history-making Apollo 8 mission, has died at 90. Astronaut William Anders, known for his iconic photo of Earth taken during the Apollo 8 mission in 1968, has died at 90 from a single-engine T-34 aircraft crash near Jones Island in the Puget Sound north of Seattle. Anders was born in Hong Kong and attended Grossmont High School before joining the Navy and the Air Force before becoming a test pilot and then a NASA astronaut. He served in various government roles during his career, including chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and General Electric, Textron, and General Dynamics, where he became chairman and CEO. Anders' iconic photo, taken as Apollo 8 rounded the far side of the Moon on its fourth orbit, was the first time humans had seen an "Earthrise".
发表 : 10 个月前 经过 Chris Jennewein 在 Science
Astronaut William Anders, who took what may be the most famous photo of Earth during the history-making Apollo 8 mission, has died at 90.
Anders’ photo of a blue Earth rising over the barren surface of the moon become an icon of the environmental movement.
The photo was taken as Apollo 8 rounded the far side of the Moon on its fourth orbit in December 1968. It was the first time that humans had seen an “Earthrise.”
“We came all this way to explore the Moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth,” Anders said later.
The astronaut was born in Hong Kong, the son of a Navy officer who was awarded the Navy Cross after an early battle with Japanese forces. The family relocated to La Mesa, where Anders graduated from Grossmont High School and then the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis.
Though he initially followed his father into the Navy, Anders later decided to join the Air Force instead, flying fighter jets before becoming a test pilot and then a NASA astronaut.
After NASA he served in various government roles, including chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and then entered the business world with positions at General Electric, Textron and General Dynamics, where he ultimately became chairman and CEO.
In retirement, Anders lived in Washington State’s San Juan Islands and also had a home on Point Loma.
He died Friday when a single-engine T-34 aircraft he was flying crashed near Jones Island in the Puget Sound north of Seattle.
话题: In Memoriam, Space