Space (part 2): Earthrise - 1968

Earth Rise/wikipedia.com

Fifty years ago - 1968 

Earth was a troubled place

Some highlights in America at that time:

* The unpopular Vietnam War and more unpopular draft

* Assassination: Martin Luther King Jr., Robert F. Kennedy

* Riots at the Chicago Democratic National Convention

* Counter-culture hippie movement

* President Lyndon B. Johnson and President Elect Richard M. Nixon

A popular TV show at that time was The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967 - 1970). The show featured s labor of love by filmmaker Chuck Braverman, described as:

A quick trip through the USA during the turbulent 1968

(reference: https://youtu.be/vtz5Emyldwg )

But in December 1968, Apollo 8  sent astronauts, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders, orbiting the moon for the first time in history.

On their Christmas Eve broadcast, the crew transmitted the iconic Earthrise photo while reading from Genesis, as shown below: 

(reference: https://youtu.be/SxiTKeQVjuo )

Back to the future, 50 years later, these still are troubled times.

As we finish the year 2018, words from a hymn, This is My Father's World come to mind. And the last verse, not always included in other renditions, gives the reason we celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world:

This is my Father’s world:

Oh, let me ne’er forget

That though the wrong seems oft so strong,

God is the ruler yet.

This is my Father’s world,

The battle is not done:

Jesus who died shall be satisfied,

And earth and Heav’n be one.

And in the closing words of astronaut Frank Borman:

"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." 

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Other post in the series:

Space (part 1) - NASA at 60 (2018)

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Photo from: Earth Rise/wikipedia.com