Without Frank Borman and his Apollo 8 crew, there would have been no moon landing. Commander Borman, James Lovell and William Anders flew to the moon on December 23, 1968, and spent the 24th and 25th orbiting 10 times. The crew made a famous appearance on television, during which they read from the book of Genesis. Borman also snapped a famous photograph, the first of an "earth rise". The voyage proved a manned rocket could get to the moon and paved the way for Neil Armstrong and co’s historic flight the next year. Borman was the Nasa liaison to President Richard Nixon for that flight and watched the launch from Nixon’s office. Borman, an air force pilot and aeronautical engineer, joined Nasa’s astronaut programme in 1962 and also flew into space on a Gemini rocket. In later times he managed an airline. Borman died on November 7 aged 95. — Agencies
