Frank Borman, 1st NASA Mission to Orbit Moon Commander, Dies

Frank Borman, the commander of NASA first mission to orbit the moon, passed away at the age of 95 years old, NASA announced on Thursday.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement: “Today we remember one of NASA’s best."

"Astronaut Frank Borman was a true American hero. Among his many accomplishments, he served as the commander of the Apollo 8 mission, humanity’s first mission around the Moon in 1968," Nelson added. 

Borman and his crewmates Jim Lovell and Bill Anders orbited the Moon 10 times in about 20 hours. They were the first people to see the Earth from the space. The milestone was described by Borman later as a memory of "wonderment."

The mission, Apollo 8, presented to the humanity one of the most famous photos ever taken, the iconic "Earthrise" showing a blue orb among the blackness of space.

Borman saie about this mission years before his death: "The Earth looked so lonely in the Universe," adding: "It's the only thing with color. All of our emotions were focused back there with our families as well, so that was the most emotional part of the flight for me."