"Thank you, Apollo 8. You saved 1968."

-- Anonymous telegram received by Frank Borman



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Pretty much, 1968 was a crap year. The Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War, the murders of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, riots, unrest, the 1968 Democratic Convention Police Riot, the Packers beating the Raiders in the Super Bowl . . .

But for a brief moment, people stopped and looked at their television sets, and went "Wow."

Apollo 8 marked several firsts in human history - the first time humans had left Earth's gravity well and entered another celestial body's, the first time people saw the other side of the Moon with unaided eyes, and the first time people could see all of their home planet.

On Christmas Eve, 1968, the three astronauts - William Anders, Frank Borman, and James Lovell - took turns reciting the first ten verses of the first chapter of the Biblical Book of Genesis. It was a famous moment, and expressed a bit of hope that the next year might be better.


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The picture shows the astronauts posing before the flight, with the Saturn V rocket in the distance. From left to right: William Anders (raccoon), Frank Borman (ferret), and James Lovell (retriever).

The Crew of Apollo 8 are © History

Art by  esteban