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.
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J. Douglas Johnson is the executive editor of Touchstone and the executive director of the Fellowship of St. James.
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