Apollo 8 was the first manned mission to the moon, launched by NASA in December 1968. The mission was crewed by astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders, and was the first time humans had left Earth’s orbit and traveled to another celestial body.
The mission was a major milestone in the United States’ efforts to land humans on the moon as part of the Apollo program. The astronauts orbited the moon ten times over the course of 20 hours, during which they conducted scientific experiments and took photographs of the lunar surface.
One of the most famous moments of the mission was when the astronauts read from the book of Genesis while orbiting the moon on Christmas Eve, broadcasting the event to a worldwide audience. The mission was a major technological and logistical achievement and marked a turning point in the Cold War space race with the Soviet Union.
After completing the mission, the astronauts returned to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on December 27, 1968. The success of the Apollo 8 mission paved the way for the subsequent Apollo 11 mission, in which Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the moon.