In The Beginning God.... Apollo 8 -- 50 Year Anniversary

The famous "Earthrise" photo  taken from lunar orbit by astronaut
Bill Anders on December 24, 1968.

Fifty years ago this Christmas the world watched in a mixture of excitement and wonder as the three-man crew of Apollo 8 -- Frank Frederick Borman II, Jim Arthur Lovell Jr. and William Alison Anders -- blasted off from Pad 39A at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island in Florida, United States for a six-day trip to the Moon and back, becoming the first human beings to leave Earth behind, fly around the Moon and return safely home.

The six-day mission began on 21st December 1968 and included a day orbiting the Moon, when the astronauts took the now famous "Earthrise" picture -- one of the most celebrated photographs ever taken of our planet. Circling the Moon on Christmas Eve, the crew shared their thoughts in a public broadcast, reading a passage from Genesis, the first book of the Bible.

 

William Anders

 

"We are now approaching lunar sunrise, and for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you. 

 

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness." 

 

James Lovell

 

"And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."

Frank Borman

 

"And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good."

 

"And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas -- and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth." 

The return trip home was uneventful, the capsule splashing down successfully in the Pacific Ocean on 27th December. The success of Apollo 8 showed that it was possible to take astronauts safely to the Moon and bring them home; the next major task would be learning how to land on the lunar surface.

US Postage Stamp commemorating
the Apollo 8 Lunar Orbit Mission.
Issued on Monday, May 5, 1969.
Over 187 million of these stamps
were made.