William Anders, photographed in 1966. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
A photograph he was not expected to take became William Anders’ claim to fame. The lunar module pilot on the 1966 Apollo 8 mission, Anders’ job while the craft orbited the moon was to photograph its surface but, entranced by the sight of the Earth emerging on the horizon, he snapped "Earthrise," a serendipitous image which captured the world’s imagination. The Hong Kong-born pilot, who was one of the Apollo 11 backup crew, left the astronaut programme in 1969 to become executive secretary of the National Aeronautics and Space Council. After serving as US ambassador to Norway for a year, Anders embarked on a successful business career. He died on June 7, aged 90, after the vintage plane he was piloting crashed near Seattle. — Agencies
