(Washington) Astronaut Frank Borman, commander of the legendary Apollo 8 mission, the first to orbit the Moon, has died at age 95, NASA announced Thursday.
“Frank Borman was a true American hero,” said the head of the American space agency, Bill Nelson, in a statement.
This pioneer of space exploration died Tuesday in Montana, NASA said.
Passionate about aviation, he began his career as an officer in the American Air Force.
“His exceptional experience and expertise led him to be chosen by NASA to join its second group of astronauts,” said Bill Nelson.
In 1965, he went into space for the first time during the Gemini 7 mission, which lasted 14 days. This mission achieves the first space rendezvous, succeeding in coming within a few tens of centimeters of the Gemini 6 spacecraft.
The Apollo 8 mission took off in December 1968, with Frank Borman and two other astronauts, James Lovell and William Anders, on board.
The famous “Earthrise” photograph was taken during this mission.
“His service to NASA and to our nation will undoubtedly inspire the Artemis generation to reach new cosmic shores,” said Bill Nelson.
NASA plans to return to the Moon with its Artemis program, successor to Apollo. The Artemis 2 mission is due to take off at the end of 2024 and circle the Moon with a crew on board, a mission compared to Apollo 8.
This time, NASA wants to establish a lasting human presence on the Moon, in order to make it a springboard for manned missions to Mars.