Earthrise: The Photo That Wasn't on the Schedule (Apollo 8, 1968)

On Christmas Eve 1968, Apollo 8's crew became the first humans to see the Earth rise over the Moon. Bill Anders grabbed a camera, his commander joked "don't take that, it's not scheduled", and a few frantic minutes later the world had Earthrise. This is the story of how the mission happened at all, the onboard recording of that moment, and the decades-long mix-up over who actually took the picture. CHAPTERS 0:00 Cold open 0:29 The Gamble 1:28 The Crew 2:05 Leaving Earth 2:45 Behind the Moon 3:20 It's Not Scheduled 4:46 Who Took It? 5:43 Christmas Eve 6:10 Coming Home 6:37 Legacy 7:35 Bill Anders 8:03 Epilogue SOURCES NASA History: "50 Years Ago: NASA Considered Changes to Apollo 8" — https://www.nasa.gov/history/50-years-ago-... NASA History: Apollo 8 mission details — https://www.nasa.gov/history/apollo-8-miss... NASA Scientific Visualization Studio, "Earthrise: The 45th Anniversary" (Ernie Wright, Andrew Chaikin et al.) — https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4129 Andrew Chaikin, "Who Took the Legendary Earthrise Photo From Apollo 8?", Smithsonian Magazine (2018) — https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nat... Wikipedia: Earthrise; Apollo 8; William Anders (for broadcast audience estimate, telegram, Time Men of the Year, crater naming, biography) Space.com: "Earthrise, the Christmas Eve image that changed the world" IMAGE & FOOTAGE CREDITS (all NASA, public domain unless noted) Earthrise AS08-14-2383 and first black-and-white frame AS08-13-2329: NASA / Apollo 8, photographed by William Anders Visualizations and onboard audio segment: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio; Apollo 8 onboard audio: NASA Launch S68-56050; Mission Control S68-56007; crew training S68-53187; launch-morning walkout 6972185; recovery S69-15737 Portraits: Frank Borman S64-31455, Jim Lovell S64-29922, Bill Anders S64-31555, George M. Low LRC-1970-B701 From Apollo 8: S-IVB AS08-16-2584, whole Earth AS08-16-2593, far side AS08-12-2196, Sea of Tranquility AS08-13-2344, Moon AS08-14-2506, TV frame S68-55816 Apollo 8 prime & backup crews jsc2008e049010 Jim Lovell with the flight plan, 2018: NASA/Joel Kowsky Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Earth view: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University