SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/aero-apollo8-first-moon-orbit

Which mission carried the first humans to orbit the Moon?

Apollo 8, in December 1968.

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  1. Apollo 11
  2. Apollo 8 ✔
  3. Gemini 12

Why: Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders launched on December 21, 1968. They spent about 20 hours circling the Moon, the first people ever to do it.

Huh, didn't know that: Bill Anders took the famous Earthrise photo from lunar orbit on Christmas Eve 1968.

The dad joke
Why didn't Apollo 8 land on the Moon? It was just going around for a look first.
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References

Answer: Apollo 8. Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders launched on December 21, 1968. They spent about 20 hours circling the Moon, the first people ever to do it.

  1. NASA, Apollo 8 www.nasa.gov/mission/apollo-8
    were the first humans to orbit the Moon
    Checked 2026-10-10.
  2. NASA, Apollo 8 www.nasa.gov/mission/apollo-8
    Anders took the 'Earthrise' photo while in lunar orbit on December 24, 1968.
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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