William A. Anders
Anders took the “Earthrise” photo while in lunar orbit on December 24, 1968.
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Biography
William A. Anders
He was backup pilot for the Gemini XI, Apollo 11 flights, and was lunar module pilot for Apollo 8 — the first lunar orbit mission in December 1968.
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Astronaut William A. Anders
NASA
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NASA Releases New Earthrise Simulation Video
NASA has issued a new visualization of the events leading to one of the iconic photographs of the 20th Century…
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History
Apollo 8
"Round the moon and back…"
During a telecast on Christmas Eve 1968, the crew read verses from the first chapter of Genesis and wished viewers, “Good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas and God bless all of you – all of you on the good Earth.”
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The Apollo 8 Crew (L to R) Frank Borman, commander; William Anders, Lunar Module (LM) Pilot; and James Lovell, Command Module (CM) pilot pose in front of the Apollo mission simulator during training. The three served as the crew for the first manned Apollo mission launched aboard the Saturn V and first manned Apollo craft to enter lunar orbit.
Credit NASA
Former Astronaut William A. Anders
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