William Anders (NASA Astronaut)

William Anders is a retired NASA astronaut best known for orbiting the Moon during Apollo 8 in 1968. As a combat pilot and engineer, he played a key role in the historic first crewed mission to leave Earth's orbit and view the Moon closely. During the mission, he captured the famous "Earthrise" photograph, showing Earth rising above the lunar horizon, which helped inspire environmental awareness worldwide. Anders contributed significantly to space exploration, space science, and later worked in environmental and commercial ventures. His work helped demonstrate humanity’s capacity for exploration beyond our planet.