Apollo 8 was the first crewed mission to carry astronauts into orbit around the Moon.
Launched on 21 December 1968, Apollo 8 carried Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders. The crew entered lunar orbit on 24 December and completed ten orbits before returning to Earth on 27 December.
The mission was originally planned as a test of the Apollo spacecraft in low Earth orbit, but NASA changed its objective because the lunar module was not ready and concerns existed that the Soviet Union might attempt a lunar mission. Apollo 8 therefore tested the command and service module near the Moon instead.
The astronauts’ Christmas Eve broadcast and Anders’s photograph known as Earthrise became especially famous. Apollo 8 did not land on the Moon; Apollo 11 achieved the first crewed lunar landing seven months later.