Apollo 8

E51555

Apollo 8 was the 1968 NASA mission that first carried humans into orbit around the Moon, marking a pivotal milestone in the space race and lunar exploration.


Statements (51)
Predicate Object
instanceOf NASA Apollo program mission
crewed spaceflight mission
apoapsisAltitudeMoon approximately 312 kilometers
backupCommander Neil A. Armstrong
backupCommandModulePilot Edwin E. Aldrin Jr.
backupLunarModulePilot Fred W. Haise Jr.
broadcast Christmas Eve 1968 television transmission from lunar orbit
commander Frank Borman
commandModuleName CSM-103
commandModulePilot James A. Lovell Jr.
country United States
crewMember Frank Borman
James A. Lovell Jr.
William A. Anders
crewSize 3
Earthrise photograph taken by William A. Anders
famousEvent reading from the Book of Genesis during Christmas Eve broadcast
firsts first crewed launch of the Saturn V rocket
first crewed spacecraft to orbit the Moon
first humans to travel beyond low Earth orbit
followedBy Apollo 9
imageProduced Earthrise photograph
landingDate 1968-12-27
landingSite Pacific Ocean
launchComplex Launch Complex 39A
launchDate 1968-12-21
launchSite Kennedy Space Center
launchTimeUTC 12:51:00
launchVehicle Saturn V
launchYear 1968
lunarModulePilot William A. Anders
lunarOrbitInsertionDate 1968-12-24
missionDuration 6 days 3 hours 0 minutes
missionNumber 8
missionType lunar orbital mission
objective to perform a crewed lunar orbital mission
to photograph potential Apollo landing sites on the Moon
to test navigation and communication in lunar orbit
operator NASA
orbitsOfMoon 10
periapsisAltitudeMoon approximately 111 kilometers
precededBy Apollo 7
program Apollo program
recoveryShip USS Yorktown (CV-10)
significance first human mission to leave Earth orbit and reach the Moon
major milestone in the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union
spaceAgency NASA
spacecraftName Apollo Command and Service Module 103
spacecraftType Apollo CSM
spaceRaceContext conducted during the Cold War space race
status successful


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