I constantly have to remind myself that while I might put up a post about some event that happens (or happened) on any given day, most people won't read it until the following day. While I'm writing this on Christmas Eve, Tuesday Dec. 24, most readers will read this on Christmas Day .
On this night 56 years ago, Christmas eve of 1968,
Apollo 8 was on the world's first mission to the moon. Like sailors
sailing out of sight of land for the first time, man was leaving the
safety of shore for the first time. We were becoming a space-faring
population. The crew, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders, spent
almost one full day in lunar orbit, completing
10 orbits of the moon
before heading back to Earth.
The six-day long mission full of firsts lifted off on Dec. 21, 1968, and it would feature the first time that humans had looked down on the moon from orbit; the first time that humans had seen the far side of the moon with their own eyes, not an orbiting camera. And it would mark the first time anyone had ever seen the Earth rise over another world.
I think any vote on the top 10 photos from the Apollo era would include this famous Earth rise shot from Apollo 8, arguably as the most famous or most important.
Christmas Eve was the day they orbited the moon, the day that the crew spoke to us of the "stark and unappetizing" look of the lunar surface and read from the book of Genesis, the first book in the Christian bible. Here on Earth, 1968 had been a tumultuous year. There had been riots in many places, assassinations and troubles all around the globe. On Christmas eve, in awe of what these men were accomplishing, it seemed like the world held its breath and watched.
As a space-fanatic 14 year old, I was captivated by the mission. Of course, the easiest video to find about the mission is the message they sent down on that Christmas eve, 56 years ago.
As I led off with, I'm writing this on Christmas Eve, but you will most likely be reading this on Christmas day. As I say every year, hold close the ones you love. Thanks to those who work today so many others don't have to. If we're very lucky, this will be the worst Christmas of our lives and everything in life gets better year by year for the rest of our lives. And if things get worse, we'll remember this as the "good old days". Either way, hold tight.
On this date, in 1955, a company was having kids call a phone number to see where Santa was. It was a wrong number - it turned out to be the number to North America Defense Command. The Colonel running the Night Watch told the crew to keep advising anybody that called of where Santa and his Sleigh currently were.
ReplyDeleteThus was born NORAD's annual Santa's sleigh progress 69 years ago. Nowadays over 200 countries participate in the Sleigh Tracker, courtesy of NORAD and the Internet. And the Colonel got a medal, I forget which one my dad said.
What a world, what a world!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
(And thank you, Apollo 8 crew, for a most awesome wonderful gift.)
I ran across that story somewhere else in the last few days, and it's one of those I'd heard years ago but forgot. It's a great story.
DeleteMERRY CHRISTMAS!! to you, too, Igor!
One of the greatest moments of our times. Three men, alone from everyone else, and they recognize God's supremacy over all through a beautiful broadcast. Imagine what their families felt at Christmas knowing they were 'out there' on basically an experimental program. Pretty much peak Western Civilization.
ReplyDeleteOnly to be topped by the first loneliest man in the universe, that being Michael Collins on Apollo 11. And the first two men to step on another world, Armstrong and Aldrin. Peak Peak Western Civilization.
I remember the Christmas Broadcast. Dad was part of the Space Program and knew all the astronauts and a lot of the scientists, and, well, downplayed his role in things. But he always made sure we got to see the good stuff, like going to neighbor's house for color broadcasts.
Just to let you know that your work is very much appreciated, even if that appreciation isn't expressed as frequently, or at all, by many readers. Your reports on space exploration and its technology are a great source for me to try to understand what is going on.
ReplyDeleteWe live in an amazing time, where at least one private individual has changed the whole approach to space. Thank you for your reporting and commentary on this -- and best wishes to you and yours.