Bill Anders (LMP)

You should see the horizon now in the top of your picture.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Roger. We have the horizon, Bill.

Bill Anders (LMP)

I believe these are the craters now Bassett and See.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Roger, Bill. If you have the polarizing filter handy, try flipping it in front, would you?

Jim Lovell (CMP)

Jerry, as a matter of interest, there's a lot of what appears to be very small new craters that have these little white rays radiating from them.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Roger. We see the filter going over it. Apollo 8, this is Houston. Looks like we have too much light. The polarizing filter doesn't help much. Go ahead and remove it again.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Looks like we just got —

Bill Anders (LMP)

Roger. We're just passing over the crater Borman, and there's Anders out there; Lovell is right south of it.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Roger. The TV is breaking up now. Okay. We are back with a good picture. Looks like we just have too much light. Our definition is rather weak.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Also, we're fogging up the window here, Houston, among other problems.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Roger, Bill. The other window is better than that one.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Much better picture, Bill; much better.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Alright. The right side of the camera is pointing retrograde. We are now passing abeam of the crater Houston; I will show the camera over there once for the folks in Texas.

Bill Anders (LMP)

It's a big and sprawly one; it's got those two impact craters, one to the right and one to the left.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Still about the same, Bill. It's—the terrain's pretty bright. We are not getting much definition at all; definition on this side is much much better.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Okay. I think—Okay. We are leaving the window; that gives you an idea how bad our window is.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Roger. This picture now is much better; I guess the light levels are decreasing now.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Okay. We are coming up on the crater Collins.

Bill Anders (LMP)

That's some small impact crater.

Bill Anders (LMP)

We will call it John Aaron's.

Bill Anders (LMP)

If he'll keep looking at the systems anyway.

Jim Lovell (CMP)

Jerry, another ID feature: these small impact craters have dark spots in the center where it appears that they buried in it and hit some new material down below and scattered a lot of fine white dust around them.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Roger. Understand, Jim.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8. This is Houston. Looks like we can see Collins now.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Roger. There is Collins for you.

Jim Lovell (CMP)

And Collins is right on the edge of Smythe's Sea which we are about to pass over.

Bill Anders (LMP)

We are now going across the Smythe Sea. Go ahead.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Roger. We just saw a Stellenword go by.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Roger. He was really in a hurry.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Roger. Picture is much improved now; getting better all the time.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Roger. The terrain here is, as you can see, not well defined. We are going to start a roll to the left, in order to come across the target area, with the television —

Bill Anders (LMP)

— landing site area.

Bill Anders (LMP)

How is that crater in—right in the middle look now?

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Roger. That's a very good one; that must be O'Neal.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Roger, Bill. We see O'Neal real well, also the smaller crater off to the side of it.

Frank Borman (CDR)

Houston, this is Apollo 8. We are going to terminate our program for this pass and get on with the preparations for LOI 2, if you say we are GO.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, this is Houston. Roger.

Frank Borman (CDR)

Okay. Signing off until ninth rev. Apollo 8.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, Houston. Roger.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, Houston. Thank you for the look.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, this is Houston. You have the DSE.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Roger. Apollo 8, on your backside data, it's pretty much unintelligible. We suggest, Bill, that you recheck the position of your mike for your backside pass and try to speak a little bit louder and more distinctly. The last one we listened to, was pretty much unintelligible. Over.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Roger. As soon as we get squared away, we will give you a real quick real time summary.

Bill Anders (LMP)

And, Houston, you might let us know, can we do the red/blue filter exercise with both these filters—red filters on? Over.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, this is Houston. Apollo 8, Houston. Negative.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, this is Houston with an LOI 2 maneuver PAD. Ready to copy?

Frank Borman (CDR)

Okay, Houston. Go ahead.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, this is Houston. LOI 2, SPS/G&N: 46427, minus 053, plus 141 073:35:05.70 minus 01350, plus all zeros, plus all zeros. Copy?

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Roger. 000 175 358 00607, plus 00606, 01350 009 01265 02 3112 197. Copy?

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Roger. Taurus, Aida; I repeat, Taurus, Aida. Up 162, left 01, the remainder not applicable. GDC align Sirius, Rigel 129, 155, 010, negative ullage, horizon window ignition minus 3 27 degrees, horizon left. At ignition, 18 degrees, horizon left; before readback, configure for receiving any update. Over.

Frank Borman (CDR)

Roger. Understand. Configure for receiving an update.

Frank Borman (CDR)

Okay. We're in P00 and ACCEPT. Go ahead.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Roger. I'm ready for your readback.

Frank Borman (CDR)

LOI 2, SPS/G&N: 46427, minus 053, plus 141 073:35:05.70, minus 01350, plus 0000, plus 0000 000 175 358 00607, plus 00606 01350 009 01265 02 3112 197; Taurus, Aida, up 16.2, left 0.1, fixed read not applicable; Sirius, Rigel 129 155 010, no ullage, ignition minus 3 27 degrees, ignition 18 degrees.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, Houston. Roger. Readback is correct.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, this is Houston. Your map update for REV 2/3, no change. Over.

Frank Borman (CDR)

Understand. No change, REV 2/3.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Roger, Frank. You can expect GO/NO-GO for the next rev at 20 minutes before LOS. Over.

Expand selection down Contract selection up

Spoken on Dec. 24, 1968, 12:39 p.m. UTC (55 years, 10 months ago). Link to this transcript range is: Tweet

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, this is Houston. We'll try to make that call 20 minutes before every LOS. Over.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, Houston. We have the CSM vector in starting on the LV. Over.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Houston, this is Apollo 8.

Jim Lovell (CMP)

Roger. Just an interesting feature: on my center window which has ice on it, it is now beginning to melt. I'm beginning to see through it.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Roger. That's good news.

Jim Lovell (CMP)

And again we're directly over our favorites, Messier and Pickering.

Jim Lovell (CMP)

The view at this altitude, Houston, is tremendous. There is no trouble picking out features that we learned on the map.

Jerry Carr (CAPCOM)

Roger. Jim, that's good news. What do you think of the lighting situation as far as the range of lighting for good visibility?

Jim Lovell (CMP)

The range from here is outstanding. I wish we had the TV still going because the brown area now is darker. We have just passed over the Sea of Fertility, and the mare is darker. The mountain range has got more contrast, has more contrast because of the sun angle. Bill's got the 16 mm going for us.