Retired American astronaut William Anders, who was a member of the Apollo 8 crew, was killed in a plane crash just off the San Juan Islands on Friday afternoon.
William Anders, an astronaut who was one of the first three people to orbit the moon, and who took the famous "Earthrise" photo, died Friday after a small plane he was in crashed in the water north of Seattle, according to NASA, local officials and his family.
Until Apollo 8 orbited the moon and returned safely to Earth under Frank Borman’s command, NASA wasn’t sure humans could survive such a long trip in space.