Apollo 8

Apollo 8 launched on December 21, 1968, sending Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders farther from Earth than any humans had ever traveled. It was the first crewed flight of the Saturn V and the first time people left Earth’s gravitational grip, entering lunar orbit on Christmas Eve and circling the Moon ten times.

As the spacecraft rounded the Moon’s far side on the fourth orbit, Anders photographed the Earth rising over the gray lunar horizon — the ‘Earthrise’ image that became one of the most influential photographs ever taken. The crew’s Christmas Eve broadcast from lunar orbit, reading from Genesis to a billion listeners, capped a year of turmoil on Earth with a moment of shared wonder.