by Acer
Capsule Communicator @CAPCOMApollo8
Apollo 8 said they were nervous that we might not have gotten their Christmas message.
Capsule Communicator @CAPCOMApollo8
We were happy to tell the Apollo 8 crew that everything came through loud and clear despite the understandable interruptions while they were moving stuff around. I thanked them for a real good show.
Bill Humphries @BHNewcastleUNI
I wonder if the astronauts actually believe the words they just read out from the Bible - that the Earth, indeed the Universe, was created like that. They are scientists of a sort after all.
Jordan Lorence @JLTexasToday
After hearing the astronauts speaking to us from the Moon describing God’s wonderful creation, I can go to bed with feelings of seeing ourselves as part of a created order much bigger than ourselves. I thank them for that.
Gene Kranz @GKGeminiFlight
I’m glad I am just a spectator on this mission since I am able to just get so totally caught up in what the crew is reporting. There have not been many times in my life when I have cried but when the crew read those passages from Genesis, I was brought to tears.
Gene Kranz @GKGeminiFlight
What brought me to tears was the sheer power, the sheer immensity and the sheer beauty of what we are doing here.
Madalyn Murray O’Hair @MOAmericanAtheists
That Bible reading was disgusting! A Christian fairy tale broadcast to the entire world by a United States government agency. I’m already organizing a petition to protest this outrageous act on the part of NASA.
Madalyn Murray O’Hair (1919 – 1995)
Madalyn O’Hair in 1969
Madalyn Murray O’Hair was the founder of the American Atheists organization which she described as “a nationwide movement which defends the civil rights of non-believers, works for the separation of church and state, and addresses First Amendment issues in public policy.” She described religion as a “an irrational reliance on superstitions and supernatural nonsense.” Following the Apollo 8 mission, O’Hair filed a lawsuit against Director Thomas Payne, NASA and the U.S. government over the astronauts’ reading of the opening verses of Genesis from the Moon.
Susan Day @SDayBabtistToday
By reading the words of Genesis the astronauts put their incredible achievement in a bigger context. Their words reminded us of the sheer glory and power of the Lord Almighty.
Madalyn Murray O’Hair @MOAmericanAtheists
NASA obviously timed this mission so the astronauts would be going around the Moon during Christmas when they would be able to broadcast their Christian propaganda to the biggest possible audience.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
Hmm.m… perhaps Mrs. O’Hair is not aware that when calculating launch dates and suchlike, NASA has to pay close attention to limited launch windows, trajectory and the relative orbits of the Earth and the Moon.
Madalyn Murray O’Hair @MOAmericanAtheists
I’m now in contact with our lawyers. Something has to be done about this and we at American Atheists are the ones to do it.
James Field @JFieldbeingJField
I'm theophobic and would really rather not hear about anything to do with religion, but I have absolutely no problem with the Genesis reading from Apollo 8.
James Field @JFieldbeingJField
I think the reading was completely appropriate for Christian astronauts, reading to a predominantly Christian nation. It made people think about what it is to be a human on this little blue ball we call home.
Madalyn Murray O’Hair @MOAmericanAtheists
That broadcast was a violation of the United States First Amendment, and the separation of Church and State. I am now instructing our lawyers to sue Tom Payne, NASA and the U.S. government all the way up to the Supreme Court.
Dr. Thomas Payne @TPayneNASA
As Chief Administrator of NASA, I can state with absolute certainty that the decision to read from Genesis was entirely the decision of the astronauts themselves. It was not a decision made by NASA.
Madalyn Murray O’Hair @MOAmericanAtheists
Tom Payne can say what he likes, but scheduling this mission for Christmas and the broadcast on Christmas Eve shows that it is NASA’s attempt to establish Christianity as the official religion of the United States.
Jordan Lorence @JLTexasToday
I think this Madalyn O’Hair person would be a good candidate for the Antichrist.
Harry Peabody @HPnowandforever
The astronauts have every right to read the Bible to themselves during their downtime. But those religious statements were part of a government broadcast in their capacity as agents of the government – an action prohibited by the First Amendment.
Madalyn Murray O’Hair @MOAmericanAtheists
Our petition will gain hundreds of thousands of signatures demanding that astronauts (or any other government employee) be prohibited from citing Scripture while on duty.
Jeffrey Liggett @GLiggettnowhereyou know
Some astronauts are religious. If they want to say a prayer while in orbit, I think they should be free to do so. Similarly, if an astronaut wants to read aloud a sci-fi or fantasy story, I see it as a similar act.
James Ganner @JGannerXD556
Maybe the next mission should name the rocket ‘Mohammed’, the command module ‘Jesus’ and the lunar lander ‘Buddha’. These religions have nothing to do with scientific advancement. Sky genies and science do not mix.
Patricia Holmes @PatHolmestoday
I think it was wrong of them to read from Genesis. Whether it was NASA or the astronauts themselves is irrelevant. They are representatives of the entire human race, of which religion divides rather than unites.
Harry Peabody @HPnowandforever
O’Hare and American Atheists are absolutely right. NASA’s claim that it was a free personal action of the astronauts is sidestepping the issue. There is no difference between this and a school ordering a service during class and a teacher reading from Genesis.
Jason Shutterfield @JSAgnosticslocally
Personally, I see nothing wrong with the reading. I say this as an agnostic who believes Christianity to be one of the more flawed religions. If it is okay for me to denounce a religion in public, then it’s also okay for others to promote their own beliefs.
Brian Williams @BWilliamspoetrylover
If I were faced with making a statement after being one of the first humans to witness an Earthrise from the Moon, I would be unable to produce poetry up to the value of the awe-inspiring experience.
Brian Williams @BWilliamspoetrylover
Instead, I would turn to age-old poetry such as that in the Bible. Just as the Apollo 8 astronauts did.
Philip Gibson @philiplaos
^ I think Brian nailed it. The astronauts were reciting incredibly moving poetry, not (I assume) what they believe to be literal astrophysical fact. It certainly moved me even though I view the Genesis account of Creation as entirely metaphorical.
Madelyn O’Hair and American Atheists pursued their case against Thomas Payne, NASA and the U.S. government all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court eventually dismissed the case, ruling in part that “The religious statements of the astronauts while on television were made by the astronauts as individuals and not as representatives of the United States government. Furthermore, to have prohibited the astronauts from making these statements would have been a violation of their own religious rights.”
Bill Anders @LMPApollo8
Hey, look at that! Earthshine from somewhere. Son of a bitch! We’re going backwards! When is the trans-Earth injection burn supposed to be?
Jim Lovell @CMPApollo8
The trans-Earth burn will be while be while we’re upside down, forward. Should be at 89 hours 19 minutes mission time, about 21 minutes from now.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
I’m not going to get my food ready unt
il after the burn. Then I’m going to take a leak. A little leak would feel good.
Jim Lovell @CMPApollo8
Wow! The Moon is darker than the sky right now. Wonder who turned on the light. I need to get a star check now, but can’t make out any stars. I have to get the star check early, otherwise the Moon will be in the way.
Paul Haney @PHPublicAffairsNASA
We have handed the tape recorder back to Apollo 8, and we have their double-umbra update.
Jim Lovell @CMPApollo8
What’s a double-umbra?
Bill Anders @LMPApollo8
Double-umbra is double shadow. When the Earth sets, you will be able to look 90 degrees back and look right down on it. The umbra is the shadow.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
I feel like I’ve been sitting in this tin can all this time like I’ve been sitting in the simulator back in Houston. It’s practically identical. Stuff happens in here exactly like in the simulator. Amazing job those simulator engineers did!
Bill Anders @LMPApollo8
I think we just got a great Earthset picture for Life Magazine. Looked really good.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
Gee, that is a pretty interesting view I’m seeing right now. Earthshine is really bright.
Bill Anders @LMPApollo8
Wait a minute! Where the hell are we? Jim says we’re pitching down, but are we doing anything? Are we maneuvering?
Jim Lovell @CMPApollo8
We are not maneuvering. We are holding steady.
Milton Windler @MWFlightApollo8
I have checked in with all my controllers and we have been able to pass up a GO for the trans-Earth injection burn on this revolution.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
I think I really screwed up just now. It looks to me like we ought to be the other way up.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
Just minutes from now, during these early hours of Christmas morning, while the spacecraft is behind the Moon, out of touch with Earth, the astronauts will start up the big rocket engine that powered them into lunar orbit.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
That crucial single engine must work perfectly again because if it fails to start or doesn’t fire for long enough, Apollo 8 will remain trapped in lunar orbit a quarter of a million miles from Earth with no possibility of rescue.
Jim Lovell @CMPApollo8
Just talking amongst ourselves here and it’s interesting to note that we still don’t know if the Moon is made out of the same material as the Earth. The answer to that may well be coming up soon with the next Apollo missions.
Bill Anders @LMPApollo8
Those guys who make a lunar landing will be bringing back a whole heap of rocks. Should keep the NASA geologists busy for years. What I’d give to be on that flight.
Jim Lovell @CMPApollo8
Any one of us could be on the landing mission. Or on the backup crew. Deke still hasn’t made a final decision and even when he does, things can still change with regard to the primary crew makeup in the days before lift off.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
If Anders is lunar module pilot on the landing mission, the first thing he will say after stepping off the lunar module will be, “Quick… pick up all the gold!”
Bill Anders @LMPApollo8
Hey! I see a strange light down there on the lunar surface.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
I asked Bill if he thinks he might be seeing a bonfire. He said it was more like small campfires. Could be just sunlight glistening off of all the gold down there.
Paul Haney @PHPublicAffairsNASA
Apollo 8 is now 3 minutes to loss of signal as they go once more around the far side of the Moon. All systems are GO for the burn that will hopefully bring them back home.
Bill Anders @LMPApollo8
We’re looking at the Earth setting right now. We’ll see it on the other side.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
It’s been a pretty fantastic week so far and it’s about to get better. By the way, I think I’ve figured out what made me sick last night. I think it was that damned pill I took – Seconal, one of the big ones.
Bill Anders @LMPApollo8
It might have been better for Frank to take one of the small pills. Still, it may just have been the flu Frank had. Although if it had been, I guess we all would have gotten sick.
Jim Lovell @CMPApollo8
I think it was just that Frank’s stomach was upset. You can get that very easily during extreme flying conditions.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
Well, I’ve never had it before, even in a zero-g airplane which is a real stomach churner.
Glynn Lunney @GLFlightApollo8
At 88 hours 51 minutes into the mission, we show expected loss of signal with the spacecraft as it passes for the final time behind the Moon. We are now about 28 minutes from the TEI (Trans-Earth Injection) maneuver.
Glynn Lunney @GLFlightApollo8
As the spacecraft went over the horizon, Capsule Communicator Ken Mattingly passed along for the second time the word that all systems are GO for TEI and received just a very terse “Roger” back from the spacecraft.
Jim Lovell @CMPApollo8
I just confirmed Peacock rising above the horizon. Boy, this spacecraft sure has performed admirably so far. Hope it holds out the same way for another two-and-a-half days.
Bill Anders @LMPApollo8
It’s blacker than pitch out there right now.
Jim Lovell @CMPApollo8
We’re going to burn with the lights on anyway since we’re got to get sunlight. I just watched the Sun and another star rise. I could just see the black horizon, the Moon, fade away and the star come up right on it.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
Looks like we’re going to be burning in daylight.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
I’ll tell you one thing these long flights are good for - an old fatty like me. I bet I’ve lost a lot of weight. I didn’t eat much those first two days and I’ve eaten almost nothing today.
Bill Anders @LMPApollo8
Real pretty sunrise out there right now. We’re seeing ignition of the burn now set for 89 hours 19 minutes. If we don’t get the corridor lineup exactly right for ignition, it might be wise to go around one more time.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
If we don’t get it right this time, there’s no reason to think we’d get it any better the next time.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
Oh, maybe Bill’s right. It might be smart to take it around one more time. We have to hit the corridor exactly right to set us on a course back to Earth.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
Jim asked why it is that we have to do these burns upside down. I told him it’s so he can see. Okay, 9 minutes to the burn right on my MARK.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
Eight minutes. Coming up on 7 minutes.
Bill Anders @LMPApollo8
I’m standing by to start the gimbal motors at 2 minutes. Hope Frank has his boresight star in lined up right.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
Uh oh! Looks like we’re going to burn right into the ground.
Jim Lovell @CMPApollo8
I don’t see the horizon at all right now, and I don’t want to burn into it.
Bill Anders @LMPApollo8
Shit! We’ve got a lot to do right now.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
Jim is seeing the lunar terminator, not the horizon. If that’s the one he’s going to burn on, we’ve got to get clear before we burn.
Jim Lovell @CMPApollo8
Computer is telling me 6 minutes to the burn that will set us on a course home.
Jim Lovell @CMPApollo8
Okay, I see the horizon now. Five minutes to the burn.
Bill Anders @LMPApollo8
Just rolle
d 180 degrees. We’re going the right way now.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
Four minutes to the burn… three minutes and a half now. We’re upside down going into this crucial burn, but going with the orbit.
Ken Mattingly @KMCAPCOMApollo8
The burn should increase Apollo 8’s velocity by some 3,522 feet per second or 2,395 miles per hour. Speed at this point should be around 8,800 feet per second or some 6,000 miles per hour.
Ken Mattingly @KMCAPCOMApollo8
At this point, it is very quiet here in Mission Control as we wait to establish contact with the spacecraft as it emerges from behind the Moon for the final time, hopefully on a course set for return to Earth after a successful TEI burn.
Walter Cronkite @WCCBSNews
So the mission controllers in Houston are waiting for word from Apollo 8, as is our team here in the studio and indeed much of the world. Waiting to hear that the burn has been successful and that the astronauts are indeed headed home.
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8
Two minutes 18 seconds remaining and then we will be heading home!
Frank Borman @CDRApollo8