One of my favorite Apollo astronauts is the late Jim Lovell. He flew in two missions yet never walked on the moon. His unflappable leadership during the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission helped make it what some called a “successful failure.”
Lovell also flew on Apollo 8, the mission that first flew around the moon. It was Christmas Eve 1968, and Lovell, William Anders, and Frank Borman delivered a Christmas message to the world from their orbit around the moon, which included a reading from Genesis 1:
Anders: We are now approaching lunar sunrise. And, for all the people back on earth, the crew of Apollo 8 have a message that we would like to send to you.
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.”
Lovell: “And God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.”
Borman: “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.”
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.
The Apollo 8 message had echoes in the message Victor Glover shared before Artemis II experienced loss of signal as the Orion vehicle went around the back side of the moon:
Thank you to all of you for allowing us the immense privilege to be on this journey together. It’s quite amazing. And as we go on this journey, thinking about the NASA mission to explore the unknown in air and space, to innovate for the benefit of humanity, and to inspire the world through discovery. And as you’ve gone along on this journey with us, hopefully we’re doing just those things. And as we get close to the nearest point to the moon and farthest point from earth, as we continue to unlock the mysteries of the cosmos I would like to remind you of one of the most important mysteries there on Earth, and that’s love. Christ said, in response to what was the greatest command, that it was ‘to love God with all that you are.’ And he also, being a great teacher, said the second is equal to it, and that is ‘to love your neighbor as yourself.’ And so as we prepare to go out of radio communication, we’re still going to feel your love from Earth. And to all of you down there on Earth, and around Earth, we love you from the moon.
Lovell passed away at the age of 97 in August of last year, but a couple of months before he died, he recorded a message for Artemis II. NASA kept Lovell’s message a secret, but mission control played it to wake the crew up on Monday.
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Here’s his message to the crew of Artemis II:
Hello Artemis II! This is Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell. Welcome to my old neighborhood. When Frank Borman and Bill Anders and I orbited the moon on Apollo 8, we got humanity’s first up close look at the moon and got a view of the home planet that inspired and united people around the world. I’m proud to pass that torch on to you as you swing around the moon and lay the groundwork for missions to Mars, for the benefit of all. It’s a historic day, and I know how busy you’ll be, but don’t forget to enjoy the view. So, Reid and Victor and Christina and Jeremy, and all the great teams supporting you, good luck and Godspeed from all of us here on the good earth.
It was a wonderful tribute from one of the first men to see the back side of the moon to the newest crew to experience what so few have. Listen to it below:
Jim Lovell represented the best of the American spirit: courage, humility, faith, and steady leadership under pressure. Become a PJ Media VIP today to read more columns that celebrate the heroes, history, and values the mainstream media too often overlook. Get 60% off with the promo code FIGHT.
