Then the astronauts returned with the first photo of Earth from a distance – the iconic blue marble of “Earthrise,” which kindled a deeper appreciation of our miraculous home and inspired a nascent environmental movement.One of the new Artemis II astronauts, Victor Glover, served on the International Space Station in 20. But on Christmas Eve in 1968, the crew of Apollo 8 beamed back a message of goodwill heard by a billion people – a quarter of everyone on the planet. All amid the context of a nation in turmoil. Next year, the crew of Artemis II will go to the moon but not land on it, preparing for further exploration in years to come – an orbiting space station and a base camp near the south pole.This, too, is the cusp of a new age – a first practical step to living on other worlds. Information Agency concluded that many worldwide questioned “whether the vaunted American system might be on the verge of decay and disintegration.” This week, NASA announced the astronauts who will in some ways reprise Apollo 8. But as Apollo 8 wheeled around the moon – the first crewed flight to orbit our cosmic neighbor – the United States was in disarray. Within a year, two men would walk on the moon. In 1968, humanity stood on the cusp of a new age.

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