What was the first crewed Saturn V mission?

Apollo 8 was the first crewed Saturn V mission.

Launched on December 21, 1968, Apollo 8 was the third flight of a Saturn V and the first to carry people. Its crew—Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders—flew the powerful rocket on humanity’s first crewed mission to the Moon, then entered lunar orbit and completed ten revolutions.

Apollo 7 came before it in the crewed Apollo sequence, but it used the smaller Saturn IB and remained in Earth orbit. Apollo 8’s Saturn V, designated AS-503, had originally been intended for an uncrewed test. NASA changed the mission profile after the lunar module was delayed and after engineers addressed serious Saturn V problems seen during Apollo 6.

The mission became a decisive step toward Apollo 11. Borman, Lovell, and Anders were the first humans to see the Moon’s far side and the first to photograph the famous Earthrise from lunar orbit. Apollo 9 then tested the lunar module in Earth orbit, while Apollo 10 rehearsed the landing profile without touching down.