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Apollo 8

Spacecraft

The first crewed spacecraft to leave Earth's orbit, reach the Moon, and return safely to Earth in December 1968, carrying astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders who captured the iconic "Earthrise" photograph.

Key Facts

organization

NASA

orbital regime

Inner System

learn more

Wikipedia

crew

Frank Borman, James Lovell, William Anders

launched

1968-12-21

returned

1968-12-27

launch mass

28,870 kg
Mission Timeline
Returned
Launched

December 21, 1968 at 12:51 UTC

Luna (The Moon)

Orbiter

Apollo 8 became the first crewed spacecraft to leave Earth's orbit, reach the Moon, and orbit another celestial body during its historic 20-hour lunar orbit beginning on December 24, 1968.

Returned

December 27, 1968 at 15:51 UTC

After completing the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon and capturing the iconic "Earthrise" photo, Apollo 8 successfully splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, concluding humanity's first journey to another celestial body.

Related Spacecraft
Apollo 10
NASA

Launched in 1969

Crewed by Thomas Stafford, Gene Cernan, John Young

The Apollo 10 mission, launched in May 1969, served as a full dress rehearsal for the Moon landing, with astronauts flying the Lunar Module to within 8.4 nautical miles of the lunar surface before returning safely to Earth.

Apollo 11
NASA

Launched in 1969

Crewed by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins

The first crewed spacecraft to land humans on the Moon launched on July 16, 1969, carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins on their historic mission that culminated in Armstrong and Aldrin's 21-hour lunar surface exploration while Collins orbited above.

Apollo 12
NASA

Launched in 1969

Crewed by Pete Conrad, Alan Bean, Richard Gordon

The second crewed mission to land on the Moon, launched on November 14, 1969, successfully landed astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean near Surveyor 3 in Oceanus Procellarum for a 31.5-hour lunar surface stay.

Apollo 13
NASA

Launched in 1970

Crewed by Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, Fred Haise

A lunar mission launched in 1970 that suffered a near-catastrophic oxygen tank explosion en route to the Moon, forcing the crew to abort their landing and return safely to Earth after a harrowing journey around the lunar far side.

Apollo 14
NASA

Launched in 1971

Crewed by Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, Edgar Mitchell

The third crewed mission to land on the Moon launched on January 31, 1971, with astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell spending 33.5 hours on the Fra Mauro highlands and conducting extensive scientific experiments despite communication problems during their lunar descent.

Apollo 15
NASA

Launched in 1971

Crewed by David Scott, Alfred Worden, James Irwin

Apollo 15 landed astronauts David Scott and James Irwin on the Moon's Hadley-Apennine region in July 1971, where they conducted three EVAs, deployed scientific instruments, and became the first mission to use the Lunar Roving Vehicle.

Apollo 16
NASA

Launched in 1972

Crewed by John Young, Ken Mattingly, Charlie Duke

Launched in April 1972, Apollo 16 carried astronauts John Young and Charles Duke to the Moon's Descartes Highlands where they conducted three EVAs, collected 95.8 kg of lunar samples, and set a lunar land speed record of 17.1 km/h in their rover.

Apollo 17
NASA

Launched in 1972

Crewed by Gene Cernan, Ronald Evans, Jack Schmitt

The final mission in the Apollo program, launched on December 7, 1972, carried astronauts Eugene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt, and Ronald Evans to the Moon, where Cernan and Schmitt conducted three EVAs totaling 22 hours in the Taurus-Littrow valley while Evans orbited above.

Other Spacecraft
Luna 3
Mariner 2
Mariner 4
Zond 5
Apollo 10
Apollo 11
Apollo 12