Apollo 8 was the first human mission to the Moon, on December 21, 1968. Three NASA astronauts, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders, entered lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, December 24 of the same year. The mission was broadcast live on television until the astronauts returned to Earth – six days after leaving our planet.
Now, NASA says the Artemis II crew is planning to return to our satellite on the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission.
According to Weissman, NASA's first lunar commander in nearly two generations, Artemis II intends to follow the same path as planned by Apollo 8, in 2024.
This time, instead of three astronauts, there will be four who will travel to lunar orbit. It should be noted that the last time we were there, on the Apollo 17 mission, was 51 years ago.
Despite the similarities to the Apollo 8 mission, Weissman says Artemis 2 will mark a milestone in our history: the pilot, Victor Glover, is the first African-American to leave low-Earth orbit; the Mission SpecialistChristina Koch is the first woman to make this journey. And Jeremy Hansen, also Canadian Mission SpecialistHe is the first “non-American” to do so. Another giant leap for humanity.
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