SANDY KOZEL

The crew of the Apollo 8 (from left): Frank Borman, William Anders and James Lovell Jr. (AP Photo) 

 

Borman announced that the crew had a final message for
the people of Earth as each man took turns reading the 
first 10 verses of the book of Genesis from the Bible.

The Apollo 8 mission paved the way for Apollo 11, fulfilling
President John F. Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the
moon before the end of the decade.

Apollo 8 command module in the Museum of
Science and Industry.

NEW YORK (AP) — A NASA spacecraft aims to fly closer to the
sun than any object sent before.

The Parker Solar Probe was launched in 2018 to get a close-up
look at the sun. Since then, it has flown straight through the
sun’s corona: the outer atmosphere visible during a total solar
eclipse.

The next milestone: closest approach to the sun. Plans call for
Parker on Tuesday to hurtle through the sizzling solar atmosphere
and pass within a record-breaking 3.8 million miles of the sun’s
surface.

NASA said at that moment, if the sun and Earth were at opposite
ends of a football field, Parker "would be on the 4-yard line.”

Mission managers won’t know how Parker fared until days after
the flyby since the spacecraft will be out of communication range.

The 233-foot tall probe before launch from Cape Canaveral.

Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, was
successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida,
with astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, Jr. and
William Anders aboard.

The crew: Frank Borman, Bill Anders and Jim Lovell.

Swimmers assist Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene A. Cernan,
left, Ronald E. Evans, and Harrison H. “Jack” Schmitt in
the life raft. (NASA Image)

The Apollo Lunar-Landing program came to an
end on December 19, 1972, when the last three
astronauts to travel to the moon splashed
down safely in the  Pacific Ocean.

Apollo 17 had lifted off from Cape Canaveral,
Florida 10 days before.

        

         
         
       

Apollo 12, the second manned mission to the surface of the
moon,was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with
astronauts Charles Conrad, Jr.; Richard F. Gordon, Jr.;
and Alan L. Bean aboard. 

President Richard Nixon (below center) viewed the liftoff
from Pad A at Cape Canaveral. He was the first president
to attend the liftoff of a manned space flight. 

Commander Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr.; Command
Module Pilot Richard F. Gordon, Jr.; Lunar Module
Pilot Alan L. Bean.