Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8

It was Christmas Eve 1968. And the astronauts of Apollo 8 - Commander Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders - were participants in a mission that took them faster (24,000 mph) and farther from the earth (240,000 miles) than any human had ever traveled. Apollo 8 was the mission that broke humanitys absolute bond to the earth: it was the first manned vehicle to leave the earths orbit. Confined within a tiny spaceship, the astronauts were aided in their journey by a computer less powerful than one of todays handheld calculators. Their mission was not only a triumph of engineering, but also an enduring moment in history. The words these three men spoke from lunar orbit reverberated through American society, changing our culture in ways no one predicted.