Apollo 8
December 24, 1968
On December 24, 1968, the crew of Apollo 8 became the first men to orbit the moon, returning with photographs of earth that no human being had ever seen, but which have entered the mind’s eye of nearly every person who has walked our planet since.
Every aspect of an Apollo flight followed a precise script, from engine firings to rotations and rendezvous maneuvers. The only surprises were problems, and in that regard Apollo 8 was (nearly) flawless and thoroughly unsurprising.
THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:
J. Douglas Johnson is the executive editor of Touchstone and the executive director of the Fellowship of St. James.
A Journal of Mere Christianity—Delivered to Your Door with Full Online Access
- Essays on theology, culture, and the Church
- Contributors from across the Christian traditions
- Six print issues per year
- Full digital archive access
Subscribe (Print + Online)
Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95.
Subscribe (Online Only)
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95.
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more from the online archives
31.1—January/February 2018
The Wisdom of the Victorian Quest for Innocence by David Sandifer
19.10—December 2006
Training Up a Child Requires a Well-Formed Imagination by David Mills
29.1—Jan/Feb 2016
Secular Credibility Is a Devilish Temptation by James Hitchcock
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
