Bill Anders, crew member of Apollo 8, took this photo on December 24, 1968. It was later named "Earthrise". Then on that Christmas Eve Jim Lovell said "The vast loneliness is awe-inspiring and it makes you realize just what you have back there on Earth."
Then Frank Borman (my favorite astronaut), the Commander said. "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."
This was the first mission when humans had left the vicinity of the Earth. All the other flights were orbital flights. Apollo 8 was the first manned flight to reach the Moon. It was inspiring. I remember it like it was yesterday.
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