Apollo 8, de eerste bemande
vlucht naar de maan kwam 24 december 1968, op kerstavond,in een baan om de maan.
De astronauten Frank Borman, Jim Lovell en Bill Anders maakten een live televisie-reportage
waarbij ze beelden van zichzelf, hun ruimteschip en van de aarde en de maan lieten
zien.
Lovell zei: "We kwamen hier om de maan te verkennen, maar het belangrijkste
det we ontdekten was de aarde zelf. We beginnen ons nu te realiseren dat daar
alles is wat we hebben"
Ze besloten de uitzending met het voorlezen van het scheppingsverhaal uit het
Bijbelboek Genesis.
Bill Anders:
"We are now aproaching Lunar sunrise. For all the people
on Earth the crew of Apollo 8 has a message we would like to send you".
"In the
beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of
the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there
be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the
darkness."
Jim Lovell:
"And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called
Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it
divide the waters from the waters.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament
from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the
second day."
Frank Borman:
"And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered
together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters
called he Seas, and God saw that it was good."
Borman sloot af met:
"And from the crew of Apollo 8,
we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of
you - all of you on the good Earth."
