I die as a result of the crash of an astronaut plane, Bill Anders, author of Earth's most escape photograph.

The American astronaut of Mission Apollo 8, Bill Anders, who has fired one of Earth's most scattered photographs of space, has died as a result of a plane crash at 90 years of age.

Officials have said the small plane has crashed in the sea outside Washington.

Anders' son, Greg, has confirmed finding his father's body.

The family is grieving. He was a great pilot. We're going to miss”, it's said in the family statement.

Anders pilot on Apollo 8 to arrive on the moon has fired a ikinic photograph of planet Earth known as one of Earth's most inspiring views of space.

The picture was taken at Christmas time, in 1968.

Anders has later described the picture as his biggest contribution to the space programme.

After coming back, he said: We've come all this way to explore the moon, and the most important thing we've discovered was Earth”.

Anders has also served as a reserve pilot in the Apollo 11 mission that has resulted in the first human landing on the moon on July 24, 1969.

After retirement from the space programme, Anders has long worked in the space industry.

He was also an American ambassador to Norway in the '70s. / REL