AMERICAN PIONEER

Frank Borman, Commander of First Manned Lunar Mission, Dies at 95

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson lauded Borman as “one of NASA’s best.”

Apollo 8 Commander Frank Borman, the astronaut who led the first manned expedition around the moon, died Tuesday in Billings, Montana, NASA announced. He was 95. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson lauded Borman as “one of NASA’s best.” Borman and fellow astronauts William Anders and James Lovell in 1968 became the first humans to orbit the moon, setting the stage for the first-ever lunar landing the following year. “His lifelong love for aviation and exploration was only surpassed by his love for his wife Susan,” Nelson said. “Frank knew the power exploration held in uniting humanity when he said, ‘Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit.’”