Astronaut Frank Borman, commander of the historic Apollo 8 mission, has died.

Astronaut Frank Borman, commander of the legendary Apollo 8 mission, the first to orbit the Moon, has died at the age of 95, the North American Space Agency (NASA) announced Friday.

“Frank Borman was a true American hero,” North American Space Agency head Bill Nelson was quoted as saying in the statement. The space exploration pioneer died Tuesday in Montana, NASA said.

Passionate about aviation, he began his career as an officer in the North American Air Force.

“His exceptional experience and knowledge led NASA to select him as a member of the second group of astronauts,” said Bill Nelson.

In 1965, Borman first went into space during the Gemini 7 mission, which lasted 14 days.

This mission carried out the first space collision, managing to approach the Gemini 6 spacecraft at a distance of several tens of centimeters.

The Apollo 8 mission launched 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.

“Your service to NASA and our country will undoubtedly inspire the Artemis generation to reach new shores in space,” said Bill Nelson.

NASA plans to return to the Moon with its Artemis program, the successor to Apollo.

The Artemis 2 mission is expected to launch in late 2024 and fly around the Moon with a crew on board – a mission compared to Apollo 8.

This time, NASA wants to ensure a permanent human presence on the Moon, with the goal of making Earth’s natural satellite a springboard for manned missions to Mars.