Apollo 8 Genesis reading

On Christmas Eve, December 24, 1968, the crew of Apollo 8 read from the Book of Genesis as they orbited the Moon. Astronauts Bill Anders, Jim Lovell, and Frank Borman, the first humans to travel to the Moon, recited verses 1 through 10 of the Genesis creation narrative from the King James Bible. Anders read verses 1–4, Lovell verses 5–8, and Borman read verses 9 and 10. Drafting Borman felt that his initial attempts to draft something appropriate 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. 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 he began looking through the New Testament to find a good connection between the Christmas season and the biblical accounts of the birth of Jesus. The suggestion to instead look to the Old Testament and use the beginning of Genesis came from Christine Laitin, Joseph Laitin's wife. The text was printed on fire-proof paper and included in the mission flight plan. Transcript Bill Anders We are now approaching lunar sunrise, and for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.