WEBVTT FILE

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[ music ]

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On December 24th 1968,

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Apollo 8 astronauts Frank
Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill
Anders

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became the first humans to orbit
the Moon.

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and the first to witness the
magnificent sight called
"Earthrise."

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Now, we can see this
historic event exactly as
the astronauts saw it,

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thanks to new data from NASA's
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or
LRO.

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LRO's superb global lunar maps,
combined with the astronauts'
own photographs,

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reveal where Apollo 8 was over
the Moon,

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and even its precise orientation
in space,

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when the astronauts first saw
the Earth rising above the
Moon's barren horizon.

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[ music ]

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It happened a few minutes after
10:30 am Houston time.

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as Apollo 8 was coming around
from the far side of the Moon
for the fourth time.

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Mission Commander Frank Borman
was in the left-hand seat,

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preparing to turn the spacecraft
to a new orientation

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according to the flight plan.

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Navigator Jim Lovell was in the
spacecraft's lower equipment
bay,

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about to make sightings on lunar
landmarks with the onboard
sextant,

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and Bill Anders was in the
right-hand seat, observing the
Moon through his side window,

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and taking pictures with a
Hasselblad still camera, fitted
with a 250-mm telephoto lens.

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Meanwhile, a second Hasselblad
with an 80-mm lens was mounted
in Borman's front-facing window,

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the so-called rendezvous window,

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photographing the Moon on an
automatic timer:

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a new picture every twenty
seconds.

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These photographs, matched with
LRO's high-resolution terrain
maps,

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show that Borman was still
turning Apollo 8 when the Earth
appeared.

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It was only because of the
timing of this rotation that the
Earthrise,

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which had happened on Apollo 8's
three previous orbits, but was
unseen by the astronauts,

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now came into view in Bill
Anders's side window.

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Here's what it looked like, as
recreated from LRO data by
Goddard's Scientific Visualization Studio.

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You'll hear the astronauts'
voices as captured by Apollo 8's
onboard tape recorder,

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beginning with Frank Borman
announcing the start of the roll
maneuver,

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and you'll see the rising Earth
move from one window to another
as Apollo 8 turns.

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Borman: All right, we're gonna
roll.


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Ready...


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Set...

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Anders: The impact crater with
uh - at uh - just prior to the
subsolar point on the south side, in the floor of it, uh,

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[unintelligible], there is one
dark hole.

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But I couldn't get a
quick enough look at it to see
if it might be anything volcanic

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Anders: Oh my God, look at that
picture over there! There's the
Earth comin' up. Wow, is that pretty!

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Borman: Hey don't take that,
it's not scheduled.

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[shutter click]

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Anders: You got a color film,
Jim? Hand me a roll of color,
quick, would you?

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Lovell: Oh man, that's great.
Lovell: Where is it?

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Anders: Hurry. Quick.



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Lovell: Down here?

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Anders: Just grab me a color. A
color exterior. Hurry up.


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Anders: Got one?

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Lovell: Yeah, I'm looking' for
one. C 368.

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Anders: Anything. Quick.

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Lovell: Here.

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Anders: Well, I think we missed
it.

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Lovell: Hey, I got it right
here.

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Anders: Let me get it out this
one, it's a lot clearer.

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[shutter click]

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Lovell: Bill, I got it framed,
it's very clear right here!

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Lovell: Got it?

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Anders: Yep.

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Lovell: Take several, take
several of 'em! Here, give it to
me!

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Anders: Wait a minute, just let
me get the right setting here
now, just calm down.

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Lovell: Take -

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Anders: Calm down, Lovell!

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Lovell: Well, I got it right -
aw, that's a beautiful
shot‚

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Two-fifty at f/11.

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[shutter click]

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Anders: Okay.

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Lovell: Now vary-vary the
exposure a little bit.

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Anders: I did, I took two of 'em
here.

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Lovell: You sure you got it now?

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Anders: Yeah, we'll get - well,
it'll come up again, I think.

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[ music ]

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For the astronauts, seeing the
Earthrise was an unexpected and
electrifying experience,

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and one of the three photographs
taken by Bill Anders became an
iconic image of the 20th century.

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In 2018, the International
Astronomical Union commemorated
the event

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by naming a 25 mile diameter
crater . "Anders'
Earthrise".

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A smaller crater was given the
name, "Eight Homeward".

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Both craters are visible in the
iconic Earthrise photograph.

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I'm Andrew Chaikin, author of "A
Man on the Moon."

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[ music ]

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[Satellite passing by: Beeping
rhythmically]