One of the first people to see the far side of the moon is dead. US astronaut Frank Borman, who led the Apollo 8 mission in December 1968, died on Tuesday at the age of 95, the US space agency Nasa announced on Thursday. Apollo 8 was the first space mission in history whose members saw and photographed the far side of the moon.
During the flight, Borman’s colleague William Anders took the still-famous image “Earthrise”, which shows the Earth as a rising crescent above the surface of the moon. Borman was “one of the best” at NASA explained NASA boss Bill Nelson, adding, “His lifelong love for aviation and exploration was only surpassed by his love for his wife Susan.”
Born in the US state of Indiana in 1928, Borman initially trained as a fighter jet pilot for the US Air Force. After years as a jet pilot, he became an assistant professor of thermodynamics at the West Point Military Academy in the US state of New York. However, he became world-famous as one of the pioneers of space travel. In 1965, Borman spent a record 14 days in space during the Gemini 7 space mission together with his later Apollo 8 companion Jim Lovell. After the end of his career with NASA, Borman became Chairman of the Board of Eastern Airlines.