ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Apollo 8

Apollo 8 was a really important space mission that happened a long time ago, in 1968. It was all about sending astronauts to orbit around our Moon and look at it up close. This was the first time humans ever traveled so far from Earth!

There were three brave astronauts named Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders who rode in a big spaceship called Apollo 8. They blasted off from a place called Cape Canaveral in Florida using a very powerful rocket. It was really exciting because millions of people all around the world watched them on TV.

After a few days of traveling through space, the spaceship entered into orbit around the Moon! This means it went around and around the Moon, just like when you ride a carousel at the park. While they were up there, the astronauts took lots of pictures and studied the Moon's surface really carefully. They even got to see the dark side of the Moon - the part we never get to see from Earth!

One really special thing that happened during the mission was when the astronauts read from the Bible while they were orbiting the Moon on Christmas Eve. It made a lot of people feel proud and happy that the astronauts were remembering Christmas while they were so far away from home.

Eventually, after a few days of exploring the Moon, Apollo 8 safely splashed down into the ocean and the astronauts were brought back to Earth. Their mission was a huge success, and it showed that we humans could travel really far out into space and come home again.