Tuesday, December 23, 2008

December 24, 1968: Earthrise

One of the most famous photographs ever taken is 40 years old. William Anders of Apollo 8 took the iconic "Earthrise" photograph as the spacecraft orbited the Moon. Apollo 8 was not in the original Apollo program, but was an idea born in the effort to get everything on track - and show real progress - as the program recovered from the Apollo I fire. Apollo 8 was a brilliant success. It reminds us how much we as a species can do when we put our intellects to a great task.


"And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with, Good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you - all of you on the good Earth." - Apollo 8 astronaut Frank Borman, after the crew completed a Christmas Eve reading from the book of Genesis

"From now on, we live in a world where man has walked on the Moon. It wasn't a miracle: we just decided to go."
- Apollo 8 astronaut Jim Lovell, after the Apollo 11 landing in 1969

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