This NASA film introduces astronaut Major William A. Anders, who served aboard Apollo 8. At :42, Anders is shown in a classroom with Buzz Aldrin and an unidentified lecturer. At :58, Anders participates in a geology field exercise. At 1:14, the Anders family house is shown near El Lago, near the Manned Space Flight Center in Houston, Texas. At 1:23, Anders is shown working out in a gym, and using a punching bag. At 1;48, Anders is shown in a series of quick cuts of astronaut training, including parachute landing, and using a LEM simulator. At 1:21, Anders is shown in his first official NASA role as back-up pilot of Gemini XI, training with Richard Gordon. At 2:17 he is shown at mission control. At 2:45, Anders is seen preparing for the third manned Apollo flight, Apollo 8. At 3:09, the first unmanned test flight of the Lunar Module is shown, and Anders comments on the importance of the test. At 3:51, Anders is shown in meetings in preparation for a mission. Astronaut Michael Collins (4:06) unexpectedly had to have surgery due to a herniated disc, and his back-up James Lovell ended up stepping into his shoes. At 4:40, Anders, Frank Borman and Jim Lovell are shown preparing for the launch of Apollo 8. They will be the first Earthlings to orbit the Moon.
William Alison Anders (born October 17, 1933) is a retired United States Air Force major general, former electrical engineer, nuclear engineer, NASA astronaut, and businessman. In December 1968, as a crew member of Apollo 8, he was one of the first three people to leave low Earth orbit and travel to the Moon. Along with fellow astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell, Anders circled the Moon ten times, and broadcast live images and commentary back to Earth. During one of the mission’s lunar orbits he photographed the iconic image Earthrise.
Apart from his professional and military careers, Anders was the U.S. Ambassador to Norway from 1976 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford.
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