Apollo 8: first crewed lunar orbit
Apolo 8: primera órbita lunar tripulada
- Date
- 21-27 de diciembre de 1968 · confidence high
- Place
- Kennedy Space Center, Florida, United States
- Credited to
- NASA (Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders)
- Field
- Movement
What was discovered
The first crewed mission to leave Earth orbit, orbit the Moon ten times and return. Its 'Earthrise' photograph changed the perception of the planet as a single, fragile world.
The mission was moved up to December 1968 because of delays in the lunar module and intelligence about Soviet plans to send a crew around the Moon (Zond).
What it led to
- demonstration of translunar injection with the Saturn V
- the decision to attempt the landing on Apollo 11 after Apollo 10
- iconography of the environmental movement