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In Memory of Bill Anders

Picture of MaryLiz Bender
MaryLiz Bender
Cosmic Perspective Co-Founder, Creative Director

We Should Have Sent Poets

On June 7, 2024, Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders passed away at age 90… not of old age or disease, but during an accident while he was solo-piloting his T-34 plane. In an attempt to grasp for any silver lining in such a tragedy, I find some comfort knowing he was experiencing his love of flight on his way out.

The words and legacy that Anders left behind completely changed my life. When I discovered his passing, I felt so compelled to honor the effect they had on me.

In 2016, I learned about Anders’ experience circling the Moon. He was charged with photographing the lunar surface while scouting for good landing sites for the Apollo 11 mission. While snapping photos, he was stunned when he saw our bright blue Earth rising from the horizon of the Moon. He then fumbled for a roll of color film and quickly captured the transformative “Earthrise” photo from lunar orbit.

Anders and his Apollo 8 crew transmitted the Earthrise photo back to Earth and it forever changed our perspective of our existence. It sparked the start of our planetary movements and gave us a new sense of our place in the universe… one species, one crew of Spaceship Earth. All crew mates on a dazzlingly-beautiful and fragile planet. This is the power of a photograph.

When Anders finally returned to Earth, he was asked, during a press conference, to describe his experience whilst capturing that transformative photograph. All he could say was, “We should have sent poets… because we did not have the language to express the grandeur of what we had seen and felt.”

We should have sent poets
When these words landed on my ears, I felt like time stood still. I felt a call to action. From this moment forward, everything in my life shifted. I was compelled by a desire to understand more about this profound human experience… one that could seemingly shift perspectives in an instant. I learned about the Overview Effect — a phrase, language, philosophy, and movement developed by my now-dear-friend Frank White. The term describes a phenomenon that astronauts experience when they see our stunningly-beautiful Mother planet from space and often return to Earth completely changed. Astronauts often return to Earth with a new identity—one that connects to the entire planet, rather than the self or the experiences of the individual. They return humanitarians, conservations, and artists compelled to share this new perspective with the rest of us.

Anders’ words, coupled with a deep desire to understand this profound human experience, beckoned me toward spaceflight and changed the course of my life. They were my calling to bring my artistic translation to the profound experience of human spaceflight. “We should have sent poets,” has made its way into every live show I’ve ever performed and they continue to move me daily. The phrase is my North Star.

While pondering Anders’ impact on my life, I felt compelled to sit at the piano with my thoughts. Immediately, a melody emerged and a poetic tribute began to form. This is a rough demo recording that I plan to develop into a full song, complete with lyrics, called “Earthrise.” A time capsule for this moment as I work to honor the human that shifted my life trajectory.
Bill Anders quote
Often, when we venture further out of our known world and pause for a moment of reflection, we are gifted a new, extremely valuable perspective of ourselves. I have carried this idea with me ever since learning of Earthrise and Bill Anders’ beautiful words.

For years, I’ve had a dream of meeting and conversing with Anders about his profound experience in space. But, I am left with a mountain of gratitude for all of the recordings of Anders sharing his wisdom and insights from his incredible experience in space. I will continue to honor his legacy and share his words in my live shows, spreading the Overview Effect perspective that he was so compelled to share with the rest of our planet.

Ad Astra, Bill Anders.

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