Apollo 8 astronaut who took famous picture of Earth dies in plane crash

NASA Earthrise picture shows the Earth behind the surface of the moon during the Apollo 8 mission (William Anders/NASA/AP)

Former astronaut William Anders was killed, aged 90, when the plane he was piloting crashed into water off the San Juan Islands in Washington state.

Retired Major General Anders took what became the famous Earthrise picture showing the planet as a shadowed blue marble from space in while on board Apollo 8 in 1968.