\n<\/p>\n
On Christmas Eve, during their 10 orbits of the moon, the three astronauts, whose movements were telecast to millions around the world, took photos of Earth as it rose over the lunar horizon, appearing as a blue marble amid the blackness of the heavens. But only Major Anders, who oversaw their spacecraft\u2019s electronic and communications systems, shot color film.<\/p>\n
His photo shook the world. Known as \u201cEarthrise,\u201d it was reproduced in a 1969 postage stamp bearing the words, \u201cIn the beginning God\u2026\u201d It was an inspiration for the first Earth Day, in 1970, and it appeared on the cover of Life magazine\u2019s 2003 book \u201c100 Photographs That Changed the World.\u201d Just moments before Major Anders began snapping away, the astronauts could be heard, as captured by the onboard recorder, expressing their awe over what they saw:<\/p>\n
\nAnders: Oh my God! Look at that picture over there. Here\u2019s the Earth coming up. Wow, that\u2019s pretty.<\/p>\n
Borman: [chuckle] Hey, don\u2019t take that, it\u2019s not scheduled.<\/p>\n
Anders: [laughter] \u201cYou got a color film, Jim? Hand me that roll of color quick, would you\u2026<\/p>\n
Lovell: \u201cOh man, that\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Decades later, in a 2015 interview with Forbes magazine, Major Anders said of Earthrise, \u201cThe view points out the beauty of Earth, and its fragility. It helped kick start the environmental movement.\u201d<\/p>\n
But he said he was surprised by how much the public\u2019s memory of the figures behind that photo had faded. \u201cIt\u2019s curious to me that the press and people on the ground have kind of forgotten our history-making voyage, and what\u2019s symbolic of the flight now is the \u2018Earthrise\u2019 picture,\u201d he said. \u201cHere we came all the way to the moon to discover Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n
In closing out their Christmas Eve telecast, the Apollo 8 astronauts read from the first passage in the Book of Genesis.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n