1968 was a year of unrest: many nations were at war. People marched for
peace, fairness, and freedom. At the same time, the Apollo 8 crew was
about to go farther into space than anyone had gone before--to the moon.
As they surveyed the moon's surface, astronauts aboard Apollo 8 looked
up just when Earth was rising out of the darkness of space. They saw the
whole planet--no countries, no borders. The photograph they took,
Earthrise, had a profound effect when published widely back on Earth,
galvanizing the environmental movement, changing the way people saw our
single, fragile home planet, and sparking hope during a year of unrest.
This important and timely picture book is publishing to coincide with
the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission, telling the story behind
the photograph, both inside the spaceship and back on Earth. Text
includes dialogue pulled from NASA's Apollo 8 transcript, drawing
readers into the iconic moment Earth was photographed from space. An
author's note at the end explains more about the photograph, the Apollo
8 mission, and how Earthrise went on to inspire Earth Day.