First Flight Around the Moon

Red outer edge across the top with white text in it over a black and white photograph of three men in space suits

Apollo 8 was launched on December 21, 1968 and was the second manned mission of the Apollo program. The crew of the Apollo 8, Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders, became the first humans to orbit the Moon, the first to see the far side of the Moon, and experience the Earth rising over the Moon's horizon. Apollo 8 helped pave the way for the Apollo 11 mission by testing the communication, tracking and life-support systems of the Apollo Command Module. The crew was also able to photograph the lunar surface to obtain information on topography as well as other scientific information necessary for future Apollo landings.

Read more about the History of NASA buttons on the Busy Beaver blog.