Bill Anders Dies: NASA Apollo 8 Astronaut Took Famous ‘Earthrise’ Shot While Orbiting Moon

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

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

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

Anders flew in space just once. He was part of the crew on the first mission for humans beyond low Earth orbit. The flight reached the moon on Christmas Eve 1968.

The crew had been taking pictures that were mostly black-and-white images. But the earthrise captured Anders’ attention.

Anders is heard on the on-board recorder asking fellow astronaut Jim Lovell, “Hand me a roll of color quick. Would you? … Quick. Quick.”

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