Apollo 8, the first crewed mission to the moon, entered lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, 24 December 1968. That evening, the astronauts – Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders – held a live broadcast from lunar orbit, in which they showed pictures of the Earth and moon as seen from their spacecraft.
Known as Earthrise this photo is considered one of the most iconic environmental images. 24 December 2018 marks 50 years since it was taken and shared with those back on Earth.