Yesterday's liftoff of the Europa Clipper at 12:06 p.m. EDT on its way to search for life on Europa, the ocean moon of Jupiter.

Thank you Bill Anders!

Traveling through space on Apollo 8 with fellow astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell, William Anders was one of the first three humans to leave Earth's orbit and one of the first three humans to orbit the Moon. He died on June 7th in the San Juan Islands of Washington state at age 90 when the plane he was piloting accidentally crashed near Jones Island. 

Photo credit: NASA.

Bill Anders took the famous "Earthrise" photo of the Earth rising over the lunar landscape. That photo is one of the most well-known photos in modern history, and almost immediately became an iconic symbol for the environmental movement. 

"Earthrise" -  Photo credit: William Anders, Apollo 8, NASA (December 24, 1968)

To learn more about Bill Anders' amazing life, see the following video and links:

NASA Administrator Remembers Apollo Astronaut William Anders

William A. Anders