Space and Astronomy Atlas

How The Universe Works
Missions and Programs

Apollo 8

Citation Formats

General Reference

APA Style

BibTeX

Apollo 8, launched by NASA on December 21, 1968, was the first crewed spacecraft to leave Earth's gravitational sphere of influence and the first human spaceflight to reach the Moon. Commanded by Frank Borman with Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders, the crew orbited the Moon ten times without landing, and were the first humans to see and photograph the lunar far side and an Earthrise, before splashing down in the northern Pacific Ocean on December 27, 1968.

Facts
Launch Date
1968-12-21 1
Outcome
Successful ten orbit crewed lunar flight; splashed down in the northern Pacific Ocean on December 27, 1968. 1
Sources
1. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia FoundationApollo 8 article, lead section
Quote, Apollo 8 article, lead section
The Apollo 8 astronauts returned to Earth on December 27, 1968, when their spacecraft splashed down in the northern Pacific Ocean
1. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia FoundationApollo 8 article, infobox
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.

View At A Past Year

The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.