... 24.12.1995 . ... Credit Copyright: NASA , Apollo 8 Crew Explanation: During the 1968 Christmas season Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders flew the Apollo 8 command module From the Earth to the Moon and back (launched Dec. 21, achieved 10 lunar orbits, landed Dec. ... The Apollo 8 mission's impressive list of firsts includes; the first manned flight using the Saturn V rocket , the first humans to journey to the Earth's Moon , and the first to photograph the Earth from deep space . ...