Space Mission
Apollo 8, 21-27 December 1968
Photographer
Frank Borman
Photo Description
Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper, 20.5 x 25.3 cm (8 x 10 in), [NASA photo no AS8-16-2615, inverted], with A KODAK PAPER watermarks on verso
Essay
For three days the Apollo 8 astronauts journeyed outward toward a goal they could not see. The Moon would fill their view once they slipped into orbit around it.
This historic photograph was taken by Frank Borman following the successful lunar insertion burn as humans were orbiting another world for the first time in history. The 132-km Crater Langrenus on the lunar nearside is seen from an altitude of 240 km looking southwest. Borman used the 80mm lens and color magazine 16/A. Latitude / longitude: 9° S / 61° E.