Like countless children around the world, Jerry Furlan was touched by the stars on December 24, 1968. It’s not because he caught Santa Claus coming down the chimney on his new bike. Instead, space exploration captured the world’s attention on Christmas Eve. Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders were in orbit around the moon, providing live coverage to about a quarter of the world’s population.
Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, entered lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1968. That night, astronauts Captain Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders broadcast live. From lunar orbit, they showed pictures of the Earth and moon as seen from the spacecraft. Credit: NASA.
“I was 12 years old and I was watching this movie on my living room TV while I was decorating the tree,” says Phil Lan, a video editor and lifelong space enthusiast from Ocean Township, New Jersey. . popular science. “It was a surprise to us to see humans orbiting the moon. The live television broadcast, although very low resolution by today’s standards, was fascinating, mesmerizing and beautiful. During the entire transmission, no one in the house spoke at all.”
This broadcast and orbit would be a milestone in both media history and space history. At that time, it was most viewed A historic television broadcast. According to Bowman,the crew was told that there would be “the largest audience ever to hear the human voice.” NASA simply instructed astronauts to: say something appropriate. The astronauts took turns reading Genesis while beaming back images of the Moon and Earth.
“The first 10 verses of Genesis are the basis of many of the world’s religions, not just Christianity.” Mr. Lovell recalled in 2008:. “There are more people in the world who believe in other religions than Christians, so we thought this was appropriate, so we decided to do it this way.”
That same Christmas Eve, Anders took the famous Earthrise photo that shows what our home looks like from the moon’s orbit.
Apollo 8 Launched from Cape Kennedy Air Force Base, Florida on December 21, 1968. It was the first manned spacecraft to leave Earth’s gravitational field, and the first manned spaceflight to reach the moon.
The crew also reached their destination on Christmas Eve. “A bold and impromptu call from NASA” Continued delays to the Lunar Module threatened to slow down the entire Apollo program. NASA orbited the Apollo 8 crew to the moon without using a lunar module in the first manned flight of the giant Saturn V rocket. This accelerated timeline ultimately kept President John F. Kennedy’s plan in place. The goal is to land humans on the moon by the end of the 1960s. alive.
It took the spacecraft 68 hours to reach the moon. The crew then completed 10 orbits in about 20 hours, during which they made their famous Christmas Eve broadcast.
The next morning, controllers awaited confirmation that Apollo 8’s engine burn to leave lunar orbit was successful. Lovell radioed back: “Roger, please let me know Santa Claus is here.” The crew then set out on their way home.
Apollo 8 splashed down in the North Pacific Ocean on December 27, after completing its total mission time. 6 days, 3 hours and 42 seconds. when they come back time A magazine named Bowman, Lovell, Anders 1968 Men of the Year.
[ Related: Happy holidays from space! ]
The success of this mission ultimately paved the way for Apollo 11, in which Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the moon. Witnessed the moon landing Estimated 650 million people But those awe-filled viewers had some appreciation for Apollo 8’s Christmas Eve message.
“The fact that it was Christmas Eve made the event even more amazing,” says Phillan. “That’s one of the memories that has stayed with me all these years.”
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