CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -Apollo 8 (December 21–27, 1968) was the first crewed spacecraft to leave low Earth orbit and the first human spaceflight to reach the Moon. The crew orbited the Moon ten times without landing, and then departed safely back to Earth.

Detailed explanation-2: -Apollo 8 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on 27 December 1968 at 15:51:42 UT (10:51:42 a.m. EST) after a mission elapsed time of 147 hrs, 0 mins, 42 secs. The splashdown point was 8 deg 7.5 min N, 165 deg 1.2 min W, 1, 000 miles SSW of Hawaii and 5 km (3 mi) from the recovery ship USS Yorktown.

Detailed explanation-3: -Just 15 minutes later, the Apollo 8 CM entered Earth’s atmosphere at 24, 243 m.p.h. The spacecraft ended its historic flight to the Moon and back by splashing down a remarkable three miles from the recovery vessel.

Detailed explanation-4: -The crew rocketed into orbit on December 21, and after circling the moon 10 times on Christmas Eve, it was time to come home. On Christmas morning, mission control waited anxiously for word that Apollo 8’s engine burn to leave lunar orbit had worked.