Apollo 8's Timeless Message

"This was just a beacon of hope as well as awe," said former Vice President Al Gore. "It pointed the way toward a new understanding of who we are as human beings, even for a brief moment."

For the environmental crusader, that image was proof of how fragile our world is. It's the spirit behind the climate change exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and it's the centerpiece to almost every climate presentation Gore has ever given.

Cowan asked, "Is it fair to say that that one image is one of the biggest catalysts for the environmental movement?"

"Oh, no question about it," Gore replied. "Within a year-and-a-half, the first Earth Day was organized, [and] the momentum emerged in the Congress for the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act. It transformed the environmental movement into what it became in the immediate aftermath of that image."

It alone may have been enough to secure Apollo 8's place in the conscience of humanity. But it wasn't the final word. 

On that Christmas Eve night, the crew broadcast a holiday message to the world.

Cowan asked, "Did you have an idea, though, how many people would be listening in and watching?"

"Well, we were told that we would have the largest audience that ever listened to a human voice before," said Borman.

But what to say? What words would resonate through the heavens on one of the holiest nights of the year?

The astronauts settled on ones that already had, from the Book of Genesis. 

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth, and the Earth was without form and void. And darkness was upon the face of the deep..."

Kluger said, "It was pitch perfect. They were the words of three in some ways very ordinary humans. I always say they had very lunch bucket names: Frank and Bill and Jim. What could be more human than that?"

Cowan asked Borman, "Did you know at the time what kind of impact it would have?" 

"No, but as we flew and as we contemplated it afterwards, we all agreed that we couldn't have done anything more appropriate."

Apollo 8 came at the end of one of our most turbulent years, during a season all about peace. "We got thousands of telegrams after the flight, but the one that struck me the most said, 'Thank you Apollo 8. You saved 1968,'" said Borman. "And I think in a way we helped to heal it."

"And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth."