Apollo 8 Genesis reading: Difference between revisions

[[File:ApolloAs8 8 Genesis Readinggenesis1a.webmogv|thumb|The [[Apollo 8]] Genesis1968 Christmas Eve broadcast and reading (NASAfrom producedthe film)[[Book of Genesis]]]]

[[Apollo 8]] commander [[Frank Borman]] felt that his initial attempts to draft something appropriate to say on their Christmas Eve broadcast sounded too much like an apology for the [[United States involvement in the Vietnam War]], and Joseph Laitin of the Bureau of the Budget (now the [[Office of Management and Budget]]) was brought in to assist.<ref name = "WaPo 1995">{{cite news | last=Smith | first=J.Y. | title = Christine Laitin Dies at 65| newspaper = [[The Washington Post]] | date = April 6, 1995 | url =https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1995/04/06/christine-laitin-dies-at-65/62c0b636-aee2-479d-81a5-5ea52179e5cc/| accessdateaccess-date = July 17, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Shribman |first1=David M. |title='God bless all of you on the good Earth': Remembering the daring Apollo 8 mission - The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2018/12/22/god-bless-all-you-good-earth-remembering-daring-apollo-mission/gfZV91DpAuDshKGEOEMfJK/story.html |accessdateaccess-date=March 20, 2020 |work=Boston Globe |date=December 22, 2018}}</ref> Laitin himself had the same problem; his initial drafts centered on the concept of peace on Earth, which felt inappropriate in light of the ongoing war effort, and. heHe began looking through the [[New Testament]] to find a good connection between the Christmas season and the biblical accounts of the [[birth of Jesus]].<ref name=Watkins>{{cite book |last1=Watkins |first1=Billy |title=Apollo Moon Missions: The Unsung Heroes |date=2007 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0-8032-6041-2 |pages=70–71 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zc-k7Dm91eMC&pg=PA70 |language=en}}</ref> The suggestion to instead look to the [[Old Testament]] and use the beginning of Genesis came from Christine Laitin, Joseph Laitin's wife.<ref name = "WaPo 1995"/><ref name=Watkins/>

:And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a [[Merry Christmas]]&nbsp;– and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth.<ref name=flt-jrnl-ap8-day4>{{cite web |last1=Woods|first1=David |last2=O'Brien|first2=Frank |work=The Apollo 8 Flight Journal |title=Day 4: Lunar Orbits 7, 8 and 9 |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/ap08fj/15day4_orbits789.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090109121732/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/ap08fj/15day4_orbits789.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 9, 2009 |publisher=NASA History Division |accessdateaccess-date=May 4, 2015 |date=December 27, 2008}} (Flight time 086:06:40 to 086:08:39)</ref>

[[Madalyn Murray O'Hair]], founder of [[American Atheists]], responded by suing the United States government, alleging violations of the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]].<ref name = "aldrin">{{cite book|author=Chaikin, Andrew|title=A Man On The Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts|publisher=Viking|isbn=0-670-81446-6|year=1994|pages=[https://archive.org/details/manonmoonvoyages00chai/page/204 204], 623|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/manonmoonvoyages00chai}}</ref> The suit was filed in the [[United States District Court for the Western District of Texas]]. It was submitted to a [[three-judge panel]], which concluded that the case was not a three-judge matter, and dismissed the case for failure to state a cause of action.<ref>{{cite court|litigants=O'Hair v. Paine|vol=312|reporter=F. Supp.|opinion=434|pinpoint=436, 438|court=W.D. Tex.|date=1969 |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/312/434/1468840/}}</ref> The direct appeal to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.<ref>''O'Hair v. Paine'', {{ussc|397|531|1970}}.</ref> Another appeal was heard before the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit|Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals]], which affirmed the trial court's dismissal ''[[per curiam]]''.<ref>{{cite court|litigants=O'Hair v. Paine|vol=432|reporter=F.2d|opinion=66|court=5th Cir.|date=1970 |url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=4365374099156957303}}</ref> The Supreme Court declined to review the case.<ref>''O'Hair v. Paine'', {{ussc|401|955|1971}}.</ref>

The page of the flight plan with the Genesis passage is on display at the [[Adler Planetarium]] in Chicago, on loan from Lovell.<ref name="50th">{{cite web |title=Spirit of Apollo - 50th Anniversary of Apollo 8 (NHQ201812110003) |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/44472582940 |website=Flickr |publisher=NASA |accessdateaccess-date=March 20, 2020 |date=December 11, 2018}}</ref> In 2018 it was displayed in the [[National Cathedral]] in Washington, DC for the fiftieth anniversary of the flight.<ref name="50th"/>

[[File:Scott 1371, Apollo 8.jpg|thumb|right|120px150px|Apollo 8 commemorative stamp, issued in 1969]]

*[[Michael Jackson]] used the ending part of the Apollo 8 Genesis on his song "[[HIStory (song)|HIStory]]" from his album ''[[HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I]]'' (1995).

*The Progressiveprogressive rock band [[Arena (band)|Arena]] used excerpts of this broadcast in the song "Purgatory Road" from the 2005 ''[[Pepper's Ghost]]'' album.

* {{cite web |last1=Woods |first1=David |last2=O'Brien |first2=Frank |title=Apollo 8 Flight Journal; Day 4: Lunar Orbit 9 |url=https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap08fj/21day4_orbit9.html |website=NASA History Division |publisher=NASA |accessdateaccess-date=March 20, 2020}}