Apollo 8 was the first crewed spacecraft to leave low Earth orbit and reach a specific location.Apollo 8 was also the first human voyage to reach another astronomical object entirely, namely the moon. The crew orbited the moon without landing before returning safely to Earth.William Anders, James Lovell, and Frank Borman were the first humans to see and photograph an Earthrise. This was also the first mission where crew members from earlier missions were reunited (Lovell and Borman, Gemini VII). All three Apollo 8 astronauts are still alive in 2021.The Apollo 8 mission was the first to send humans to the Moon and back. Testing the flight trajectory and operations for getting there and back was a critical step to actually landing on the Moon.After Apollo 7, which stayed in Earth orbit, Apollo 8 launched on December 21, 1968. It was the second crewed spaceflight mission performed in the United States through the Apollo space program. The launch vehicle used was the Saturn V rocket. Apollo 8, the lunar mission, was the first crewed launch of the Saturn V rocket, the first crewed spaceflight in the Apollo program, and the first human spaceflight from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which is close to the Cape Kennedy Air Force Station. Upon reentry, the Apollo 8 was retrieved in the Pacific Ocean.If you like reading about Apollo 8, you should read further to learn about it in detail. The answer to the question of what Apollo 8 was famous for lies below, along with other information on Apollo 8 and lots of curious questions that have been answered. You should also definitely check out our other articles about Apollo 12 facts and Apollo 18 facts.Apollo 8 MissionApollo 8’s crewed mission was launched at the end of 1968, a year marked by great change in the United States and the rest of the planet.The Apollo 8 spacecraft was the first to orbit the Moon and return to Earth with a crew. The crew of Apollo 8 was also the first to see and photograph the Earthrise.In the decades following the Apollo missions, NASA shifted its focus to Earth orbit, with endeavors like the space shuttle program and the International Space Station.Prior to Apollo 8, the greatest distance anyone had traveled from Earth was around 850 mi (1368 km). Apollo 8 increased it to nearly 6,21,371.1 mi (1 million km)They explored three mission options: a deeper Earth orbital journey into space, a circumlunar flyover, and a lunar orbit mission. Another objective of this mission was to use a slingshot maneuver to place the S-IVB satellite into solar orbit.Despite political assassinations, political upheaval on the streets of Europe and America, and the Prague Spring, Time magazine named the crew of Apollo 8 its Men of the Year for 1968, honoring them as the people who had the greatest influence on events in the previous year. Astronauts on Apollo 8 were the first individuals to orbit another celestial body outside of the Earth’s gravitational field. They’d made it through a mission that even the crew had estimated had only a 50-50 chance of succeeding. The impact of Apollo 8 was summed up in a telegram received by Borman after the mission from an unknown sender, which simply wrote, ‘Apollo 8, thank you. You saved the year 1968’.The crew snapped a picture of Earthrise as they came around for their fourth orbit of the moon, which became one of the most renowned elements of the journey. This was the first time humans had taken a picture like this while actually in front of the camera, and it is credited as being one of the inspirations for the inaugural Earth Day in 1970. It was the first of Life magazine’s 100 Photographs That Changed the World to be chosen.Apollo 8 CrewOn November 20, 1967, Frank Borman was named Commander, Michael Collins was named Command Module Pilot (CMP), and William Anders was named Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) for the third crewed Apollo flight.Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Fred W. Haise Jr. were the backup crew. Aldrin and Armstrong would later go down in history as the first two humans to step foot on the moon’s surface in the next mission. The images they took of the moon and the data they collected while in deep space and in lunar orbit were crucial in preparing the US for the moon landing the following year.After suffering a cervical disc herniation that necessitated surgery, Collins was replaced by Jim Lovell in July 1968. Lovell had flown twice before, on Gemini VII and Gemini XII, making this crew exceptional among pre-Space Shuttle missions in that the commander was not the most experienced member of the crew. This would also be the first time a prior mission’s commander (Lovell, Gemini XII) had flown as a non-commander. This was also the first mission where crew members from earlier missions were reunited (Lovell and Frank Borman, Gemini VII).All three Apollo 8 astronauts are still alive as of 2021.Was Apollo 8 successful?On December 21, 1968, the three astronauts’ crew launched into orbit, and after circling the moon ten times in lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, they returned home, making the Apollo 8 success possible. Mission control awaited confirmation that Apollo 8’s engine burns to leave lunar orbit had succeeded on Christmas morning. ‘Roger, please be informed that there is a Santa Claus’, Lovell radioed shortly after.The mission duration of this historic flight was six days, three hours, and 42 seconds.Mission control waited with bated breath for word from the crew of Apollo 8 that their engine burn had been successful, and the spacecraft began the journey back home.On December 27, 1968, the crew splash-landed into the Pacific Ocean. Although a lunar landing was still months away, humans from Earth had visited the moon and returned home safely for the first time.Did Apollo 8 land on the moon?The Apollo 8 mission did not include a lander. Furthermore, in the event of a comparable emergency to that of Apollo 13, the crew would have died because there was no LEM to serve as a lifeboat.It was stated that Apollo 8 would crash on the lunar surface if the engine burned for too long. If it burned briefly, it would not be able to enter lunar orbit or even return. If it burns for too long, the spacecraft could shoot off into space.NASA made a risky, improvised call to get the Apollo 8 astronauts to their destination on Christmas Eve. Delays with the lunar module threatened to stall the Apollo program as the clock was ticking on Kennedy’s challenge to get people on the moon by the end of the decade. So, on the first manned flight of the enormous Saturn V rocket, NASA decided to modify mission plans and fly the Apollo 8 crew all the way to the moon without a lunar module.Did You Know…Rumors were also circulating that the Soviet Union was close to attempting a manned orbit of the moon; thus, NASA was able to both put out the possibility by being the first to get to the moon.They launched an 11-second LOI-2 burn of the SPS at the end of the second orbit to circularize the orbit.On December 24, 1968, Apollo 8 became the United States’ first manned (human crew) space mission to leave Earth’s orbit, voyage outside of Earth’s gravity, and fly around the moon.The Apollo 8 lunar module may be seen at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry as well as the Air and Space Museum Parkway Chantilly, VA.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Apollo 8 facts then why not take a look at Apollo 15 facts, or Apollo 1 facts.
Apollo 8 was the first crewed spacecraft to leave low Earth orbit and reach a specific location.
