December 22, 2008 | 4 comments

The Voyage of Apollo 8: The 40th Anniversary of Mankind's First Trip to the Moon [Slide Show]

When three U.S. astronauts became the first humans to leave Earth's gravity field, some NASA experts gave them a 50-50 chance of making it home alive

By Michael J. Battaglia

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CLICK TO ENLARGE + Credit: NASA-JSC-GRIN

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.

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