The historic flight of Apollo 8
All photos, unless otherwise stated: NASA
The three Apollo 8 astronauts walk through a hallway on their way to the launchpad.
The Saturn V rocket that would send Apollo 8 on its way to the Moon makes the slow journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39A.
The astronauts took this photo of the jettisoned third stage of the Saturn V rocket after it had propelled them toward the Moon.
The Apollo 10 command module appears to the lower right of triangular Mount Marilyn on the southeastern shore of the Sea of Tranquillity.
Tsiolkovsky Crater sticks out on the lunar farside. The Apollo 8 astronauts were the first humans to see the farside with their own eyes.
The rugged lunar farside is pockmarked with craters and sports few of the large lava-filled basins seen on the nearside.
The command module rests on the deck after it had been pulled from the ocean.
