This changed Apollo’s orbit from a nearly circular one to an ... The end result is that Apollo’s trajectory looked like a figure 8! Now, sticklers will point out that only Apollo 13 actually ...

In deep space, out of contact with ground control, the three astronauts were alone with their thoughts as Apollo 8 entered lunar orbit ... on us and trying to figure out something that was ...

Before Apollo 8, no human had ever left Earth ... Their mission was to fly a figure 8 pattern out to the moon, orbit it 10 times and return safely home. But safety and success were not certain.

Overall view of the Mission Operations Control Room in the Mission Control Center, Building 30, on the third day of the Apollo 8 lunar orbit mission. Seen on the television monitor is a picture of ...

He did not go into space until Dec. 21, 1968, when Apollo 8 lifted off on the first crewed mission to leave Earth orbit and travel ... hope "that when we finally figure out how to go to Mars ...

It was December 24, 1968. The crew of Apollo 8 was rocketing towards the moon – the first time that man had left Earth’s orbit. It was a daring mission, less than two years removed from the ...

to enter the orbit of another celestial body, and to gaze upon the far side of the Moon. While often overshadowed by the giant leaps of the missions that followed, Apollo 8’s legacy is vast.

(AP Photo/File) FILE – Apollo 8 astronauts, suited up and ready to go, walk to a van heading for their Saturn V rocket for their moon orbit mission from Cape Kennedy, Fla., Dec. 21, 1968.

Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders, who took the iconic "Earthrise" photograph while in lunar orbit that showed the Earth from the moon's surface, has died, NASA administrator Bill Nelson said Friday.

And another bonus was that entering the Moon’s orbit from the leading edge side demanded less fuel — again keeping consumables down. The end result is that Apollo’s trajectory looked like a figure 8!