Apollo 8's Christmas message from the Far Side of the Moon

In a time that now seems so long ago in a year that had been heart breaking for many of us. 1968 was a very electrifying and appalling year, stressful and chaotic with many things happening around the world and in America; the assassinations of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, the Vietnam War with the Tet Offensive, the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, student uprisings continuing along with the riots during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago just to name a few.

I was in my last stages of high school and as a child of the 60’s was totally fascinated by the Space Program. We would drive from Atlanta to Cape Canaveral (later the John F. Kennedy Space Center) Florida to view the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo launches. Each one was something to see and experience. As the size of the rockets grew so did the sound and vibrations of the ground from several miles away.

To watch a rocket rise from the beaches on the Florida coast and rise into the sky captured my imagination and still to this day makes me wish for some way to experience that adventure.

The Christmas mission of Apollo 8 was the first time a human completely escaped Earth's gravity and, with his own eyes, saw the dark side of the moon. The flight was a worldwide phenomenon, thanks to Apollo 8's providing the first pictures of our planet taken by man from deep space, and the first live TV coverage of the moon's surface up close.

Many of us remember the famous “Earth Rise” picture that was taken on Apollo 8. How incredible it must have been to have seen such a moving sight with the Earth Rising from behind the lunar surface 30 miles below.

Apollo 11, commanded by Neil Armstrong, marked the first time man had stepped on the moon. But Apollo 8 was -- and still is, by some -- considered the most important step in the exploration of space.

The men of Apollo 8 were Jim Lovell, Frank Borman, and William Anders.

NASA told them to say something on this Christmas Eve to the whole world during a live television broadcast.

And so they did.

"In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. . . .''

The trio of astronauts of Apollo 8, speaking from space on Christmas Eve in 1968, quoted from Genesis, the first book of the Bible.

It was, probably the most profound Christmas prayer ever given by any member of the human race.

Jim Lovell would later say, "It was a natural. It's really the basis of most of the world's religions.'' Lovell an Apollo 8 astronaut has lent the flight manual containing the verses to the Adler Planetarium. "We transferred it onto fireproof paper, and we put in the back of the flight manual,'' said Lovell.

The astronauts made the decision to read from the Bible.

Anders, a Catholic, at first wanted to tell the story of Christ's birth. Borman knew the world would be watching -- a world that included folks other than Christians.

Borman consulted a friend, Simon Bourgin, who worked for the United States Information Agency. Stumped, Bourgin asked another friend, Joe Laitlan, a former newspaperman. Laitlan's wife, Christine, told her husband to "begin at the beginning'' and suggested Genesis.

The first 10 lines of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, that was read by the crew of Apollo 8, begins the story of God's creation of the universe.

Lunar module pilot William Anders was first, reading that "God said 'Let there be light and there was light.' ''

Command module pilot and navigator James Lovell read verses five through eight, covering the creation of day and night.

Apollo 8 commander Frank Borman concluded with God separating land from sea, concluding with the line "and God saw that it was good.''

The astronauts concluded their reading of the first 10 lines of Genesis with a message from Borman, Apollo 8's commander.

"And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with a good night, good luck and a merry Christmas. God bless all of you . . . all of you on the good Earth.''

With all of the bad things from 1968 behind us we ended the year on an upbeat, we ended doing something positive.

Thirty seven years later there are some similarities in the world around us and the words still ring true for me anyway.

“God bless all of you . . . all of you on the good Earth.''

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