William Anders

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William Alison Anders
Born (1933-10-17) October 17, 1933 (age 90)
StatusRetired
NationalityUnited States
OccupationEngineer
Space career
NASA Astronaut
RankMajor General, USAF
Time in space
6d 03h 00m
Selection1963 NASA Group
MissionsApollo 8
Mission insignia

William Alison Anders (born October 17, 1933) is a former United States Air Force officer, NASA astronaut, businessman, and engineer. He is was a member of the Apollo 8 space mission. Anders, Frank Borman and Jim Lovell were the first astronauts to leave the orbit of the Earth and go to the Moon.

The crew took the first pictures taken of the earth from the Moon.[1][2]

The Anders crater on the Moon is named in his honor.

He has a wife named Valerie E. Hoard. He has six children, Alan, Glen, Gregory, Eric, Gayle and Daina.[3]

He was a fighter pilot and an air defence commander. He received a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree in Nuclear Engineering. He graduated from Naval Academy. In 1964, NASA selected him as an astronaut with important responsibilities.[3]

Anders was the U.S. Ambassador of Norway from 1976 until 1977.

References[change | change source]

  1. "Remarks by the President at the National Academy of Sciences Annual Meeting (2009)". Archived from the original on 2015-06-03. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
  2. International Space Hall of Fame Archived 2012-03-13 at the Wayback Machine - New Mexico Museum of Space History
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Astronaut Bio: William Anders". jsc.nasa.gov. 2001-05-23. Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2023-04-22.