Former US astronaut William Anders, who was part of the Apollo 8 mission which saw the first crew orbit the moon in 1968, has died in a plane crash north-west of Seattle, US media reported on Friday citing his son. Anders was 90 years old. He was flying alone in a small aircraft when it went down off the coast of Washington state, according to the reports. Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the crash. During the Apollo 8 mission, Anders took the famous Earthrise photo which depicts the moon with the Earth “rising” in space in the background. The image has been credite…