Earthrise
Explanation:
What's that rising over the edge of the Moon?
Earth.
About 47 years ago, in December of 1968, the
Apollo 8 crew flew from the
Earth to the
Moon and back again.
Frank Borman,
James Lovell, and
William Anders were launched atop a
Saturn
V rocket on December 21,
circled the Moon ten times in their command module,
and returned to Earth on December 27.
The
Apollo
8
mission's impressive list of firsts includes: the first humans to journey to the
Earth's Moon,
the first to fly using the
Saturn V
rocket,
and the first
to
photograph the Earth from deep space.
As the Apollo 8 command module rounded the
farside of the Moon,
the crew could look toward the
lunar horizon and see the Earth appear
to rise, due to their spacecraft's orbital motion.
Their
famous picture of a distant blue Earth
above the Moon's limb
was a marvelous gift to the world.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
