WELL-SUITED:

From left to right, the crew of Apollo 8, James Lovell, Jr., command module pilot; William Anders, lunar module pilot; and Frank Borman, commander, pose on the steps of a Kennedy Space Center simulator in their space suits....[More]

WELL-SUITED:

From left to right, the crew of Apollo 8, James Lovell, Jr., command module pilot; William Anders, lunar module pilot; and Frank Borman, commander, pose on the steps of a Kennedy Space Center simulator in their space suits.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

FIRED UP:

The Apollo 8 spacecraft, sans moon lander, atop a Saturn 5 rocket launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, at 7:51 A.M....[More]

FIRED UP:

The Apollo 8 spacecraft, sans moon lander, atop a Saturn 5 rocket launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, at 7:51 A.M. Eastern Standard Time on December 21, 1968. It was the first time astronauts rode into space on the moon rocket designed by Wernher von Braun.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

Commander Frank Borman at the controls in the equipment-packed command module cabin. This still photo was made from movie film taken by an onboard 16-millimeter camera.

WORLDLY PERSPECTIVE:

This view of Earth from Apollo 8 on its way to the moon shows much of the Western Hemisphere and the eastern Pacific Ocean, including most of North America, extending to Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America....[More]

WORLDLY PERSPECTIVE:

This view of Earth from Apollo 8 on its way to the moon shows much of the Western Hemisphere and the eastern Pacific Ocean, including most of North America, extending to Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America. Mexico and Central America are outlined under clouds. Nearly all of South America is cloud-covered, except the Andes mountain chain along its west coast.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

OTHERWORLDLY PERSPECTIVE:

Photograph of nearly full moon taken from Apollo 8 at a point above 70 degrees east longitude. Mare Crisium (the Sea of Crises), the circular, dark-colored area close to the center is near the full moon's eastern edge when viewed from Earth....[More]

OTHERWORLDLY PERSPECTIVE:

Photograph of nearly full moon taken from Apollo 8 at a point above 70 degrees east longitude. Mare Crisium (the Sea of Crises), the circular, dark-colored area close to the center is near the full moon's eastern edge when viewed from Earth. Mare Nectaris (the Sea of Nectar) is the circular mare near the terminator. The large, irregular maria are Tranquillitatis (the Sea of Tranquility) and highlands to the south. Lunar far side features, unable to be seen from Earth, occupy most of the right half of the picture. The large, dark-colored crater, Tsiolkovsky, not visible from Earth, is near the limb at the lower right. The crater Langrenus [center] is at the eastern edge of Mare Fecunditatis (Sea of Fertility).  [Less] [Link to this slide]

IT'S ALL BACK THERE:

High-oblique view of the moon's surface showing Earth rising above the lunar horizon, looking west-southwest, as photographed from lunar orbit. The center of the picture is located at about 105 degrees east longitude and 13 degrees south latitude....[More]

IT'S ALL BACK THERE:

High-oblique view of the moon's surface showing Earth rising above the lunar horizon, looking west-southwest, as photographed from lunar orbit. The center of the picture is located at about 105 degrees east longitude and 13 degrees south latitude. The lunar surface's color is probably less pronounced than that in this image.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

GRAY CHEESE:

This view of the lunar surface looks southward toward Goclenius and other large craters near 45 degrees east longitude and 10 degrees south latitude in Mare Fecunditatis (the Sea of Fertility)....[More]

GRAY CHEESE:

This view of the lunar surface looks southward toward Goclenius and other large craters near 45 degrees east longitude and 10 degrees south latitude in Mare Fecunditatis (the Sea of Fertility). Goclenius, [foreground] with rilles traversing its flat floor, is about 45 miles (70 kilometers) in diameter. One rille, approximately horizontal, runs across both crater rims and its central peak. In the background, the two large craters with smooth floors are Colombo A [left] and Magelhaens. Magelhaens A, the crater with the irregular floor, is about 20 miles (35 kilometers) in diameter.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

FAR OUT:

Apollo 8 's crew members were the first humans to lay eyes on the moon's far side, whose features are much more rugged than the familiar face visible from Earth....[More]

FAR OUT:

Apollo 8's crew members were the first humans to lay eyes on the moon's far side, whose features are much more rugged than the familiar face visible from Earth. One of its most notable features is the large crater Tsiolkovsky. This view is east toward the lunar horizon. Tsiolkovsky is approximately 150 miles (240 kilometers) in diameter. It was first identified and named by the Russians from photographs taken by their unmanned Luna 3 spacecraft in 1959.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

CLOSE-UP OF THE FAR SIDE:

This oblique view of the lunar surface looks south across the far side crater, Tsiolkovsky, centered near 129 degrees east longitude, 21 degrees south latitude....[More]

CLOSE-UP OF THE FAR SIDE:

This oblique view of the lunar surface looks south across the far side crater, Tsiolkovsky, centered near 129 degrees east longitude, 21 degrees south latitude. Its flat floor is much darker than the surrounding surface and most of the mare material observed by Apollo 8. The dark area is about 80 miles (125 kilometers) across. The crater's light-colored central peak [center] is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) in length. A high sun angle accentuates the contrast between the light and dark material.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

STILL TRANQUIL:

Looking northwest into Mare Tranquillitatis (the Sea of Tranquility). The three prominent craters are Taruntis F [ lower right corner ]; Taruntis E [ center ]; and Cauchy between the two linear features....[More]

STILL TRANQUIL:

Looking northwest into Mare Tranquillitatis (the Sea of Tranquility). The three prominent craters are Taruntis F [lower right corner]; Taruntis E [center]; and Cauchy between the two linear features. The Cauchy scarp, on the near side of the Cauchy crater, is formed by one to three faults. Seven months later Apollo 11 would touch down in the Sea of Tranquility bringing humans to the surface of another world for the first time.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

HOME RUN:

A half Earth photographed by the Apollo 8 astronauts on their return trip from the moon. The terminator crosses Australia. India is visible. The sun reflection illuminates the Indian Ocean....[More]

HOME RUN:

A half Earth photographed by the Apollo 8 astronauts on their return trip from the moon. The terminator crosses Australia. India is visible. The sun reflection illuminates the Indian Ocean.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

TRAIL BY FIRE:

Apollo 8 leaves a fiery trail as it reenters Earth's atmosphere at around 25,000 miles (40,200 kilometers) per hour. This photograph was taken using a U.S....[More]

TRAIL BY FIRE:

Apollo 8 leaves a fiery trail as it reenters Earth's atmosphere at around 25,000 miles (40,200 kilometers) per hour. This photograph was taken using a U.S. Air Force airborne lightweight optical tracking system (ALOTS) camera mounted on a KC-135-A aircraft flown at an altitude of 40,000 feet (13,000 meters). Apollo 8 splashed down on December 27, 1968, at 10:51 A.M. Eastern Standard Time in the central Pacific approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) south-southwest of Hawaii.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

TRIED, TESTED AND TRUE:

The Apollo 8 capsule, sans crew, is hoisted aboard the recovery aircraft carrier, U.S.S. Yorktown, after its successful splashdown on December 27, 1968....[More]

TRIED, TESTED AND TRUE:

The Apollo 8 capsule, sans crew, is hoisted aboard the recovery aircraft carrier, U.S.S. Yorktown, after its successful splashdown on December 27, 1968. All spacecraft systems operated within allowable limits and all the mission objectives were achieved.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

THE RIGHT STUFF OF HISTORY:

The Apollo 8 crew stands in the doorway of a recovery helicopter after arriving aboard the carrier U.S.S. Yorktown . Left to right are Astronauts Frank Borman, James A Lovell, Jr., and William A....[More]

THE RIGHT STUFF OF HISTORY:

The Apollo 8 crew stands in the doorway of a recovery helicopter after arriving aboard the carrier U.S.S. Yorktown. Left to right are Astronauts Frank Borman, James A Lovell, Jr., and William A. Anders.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

HAPPY HOMECOMING:

The Apollo 8 crew gets a heroes' welcome on LaSalle Street in Chicago, January 18, 1969. From left, Navy Capt. James Lovell, Jr., waving; Air Force Col....[More]

HAPPY HOMECOMING:

The Apollo 8 crew gets a heroes' welcome on LaSalle Street in Chicago, January 18, 1969. From left, Navy Capt. James Lovell, Jr., waving; Air Force Col. Frank Borman; and Air Force Lt. Col. William Anders.  [Less] [Link to this slide]