Apollo 8

아폴로 8호

On Christmas Eve 1968, people orbited the Moon for the first time. This is when they took the famous “Earthrise” photo of Earth rising over the Moon.

See it on the 3D Moon →

At a glance

Where: Lunar orbit · 1968
📅 Launched: 1968-12-21
🚀 Sent by: NASA (USA)
👨‍🚀 Crew: Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, William Anders
🔄 Orbit: 10 orbits of the Moon
Kind: Spacecraft in orbit

Apollo 8 was the first time people ever left Earth's orbit and travelled all the way to the Moon. NASA launched it on 21 December 1968 with three astronauts: Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders. It was also the first time people rode the giant Saturn V rocket.

On Christmas Eve 1968 the spacecraft slipped into orbit around the Moon and circled it 10 times, about 20 hours in all. The crew became the first humans to see the far side of the Moon with their own eyes, and the first to watch Earth rise over the lunar horizon. The photo they took, called Earthrise, became one of the most famous pictures ever made. Apollo 8 did not land, but it proved the trip was possible and opened the way for Apollo 11.

The mission

Apollo 8 lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida and reached the Moon three days later. After 10 orbits, the crew fired their engine behind the Moon, out of radio contact with Earth, to head home. Everyone waited nervously until the signal came back. The capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on 27 December 1968, and the ship USS Yorktown picked the astronauts up. The whole trip took just over six days.

The Earthrise photo

During the fourth orbit, Earth suddenly appeared above the grey lunar surface. Bill Anders grabbed a camera loaded with colour film and took the shot now known as Earthrise. It showed our blue planet small and alone in black space. Many people say the picture helped them see Earth as one fragile home, and it is often linked to the start of the modern environmental movement.

Christmas Eve on the Moon

On the ninth orbit the crew sent a television broadcast back to Earth. While pictures of the Moon's surface appeared on screens, the three astronauts took turns reading the opening lines of the Book of Genesis. It was one of the most watched broadcasts of its time, reaching people all over the world on Christmas Eve.

Fun facts

Apollo 8 was the first crewed flight of the Saturn V, the rocket that later carried astronauts to land on the Moon.
The three Apollo 8 astronauts were the first people ever to see the far side of the Moon with their own eyes.
The famous Earthrise photo was taken during the fourth of Apollo 8's 10 orbits around the Moon.
The mission's motto was simply 'Round the Moon and back'.

On the 3D Moon

On the 3D Moon you can see Apollo 8 circling in a low orbit, just as it did on Christmas Eve 1968, when its crew took the Earthrise photo of Earth rising over the Moon.

Sources

Updated: 2026-10-19