On December 24, 1968, in what was the most watched television broadcast at the time[1][2], the crew of Apollo 8 read in turn from the Book of Genesis as they orbited the moon. William Anders, Jim Lovell, and Frank Borman recited verses 1 through 10, using the King James Version text.[3]
Madalyn Murray O'Hair, an atheist, responded by suing the United States government, alleging violations of the First Amendment.[4] The suit was dismissed by the Supreme Court due to lack of jurisdiction.[5] Later on the Apollo 11 mission, Buzz Aldrin received communion on the lunar surface shortly after landing. He kept his actions secret for many years.[4]
An excerpt from the recorded readings (mostly from Anders' section) features prominently in "In the Beginning", the opening track the album The Songs of Distant Earth (1994) by Mike Oldfield.
The European electronic duo VNV Nation use a sample of the recording on "Genesis", a song from their 2002 album, Futureperfect.
In the Space: Above and Beyond episode "The River of Stars," the Apollo 8 recording is played for the 58th "Wildcards" Squadron.
The entire reading is reproduced verbatim in the "1968" episode of the HBO TV miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.
Israeli Goa Trance artists, Astral Projection have a song titled "Let There Be Light", which has a sample of the first four verses, read by William Anders.