Topics covered:
- Awareness in space.
NASA’s 1st flight to moon, Apollo 8, marks 50th anniversary
What to study?
For Prelims and Mains: Apollo 8 Mission and its significance.
Context: NASA’s Apollo 8 mission completes its 50th anniversary this year.
About the Apollo 8 Mission:
Apollo 8, the second manned spaceflight mission in the United States Apollo space program, was launched on December 21, 1968, and became the first manned spacecraft to leave low Earth orbit, reach the Moon, orbit it, and safely return.
- The three-astronaut crew—Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders—became the first humans to travel beyond low Earth orbit, see Earth as a whole planet, and enter the gravity well of another celestial body. They were also the first humans to orbit another celestial body, see the far side of the Moon, witness and photograph an “Earthrise”, escape the gravity of another celestial body (the Moon), and reenter Earth’s gravitational well.
Sources: the hindu.
