Bill Anders signed photo

In 1963, William Anders was selected by NASA in the third group of astronauts. He became involved in the NASA work in the areas of dosimetry, radiation effects, and environmental controls. He was the backup pilot for the Gemini XI mission; the lunar module pilot for the Apollo 8 mission, the first lunar orbit mission, in December 1968. Anders took a photograph of Earthrise that has become one of the most celebrated of the US space program. He served as backup command module pilot for the Apollo 11 mission, but he left the NASA that year, and he was replaced by Ken Mattingly as part of the original Apollo 14 prime crew -- the crew that switched with Alan Shepard’s original Apollo 13 prime crew.
(NASA glossy)