50 years ago, astronauts orbited the moon for the first time
Excerpt from the December 21, 1968 issue of Science News
Apollo 8: Options on the way
Just two months after the end of the successful first manned Apollo flight … three astronauts are ready to fly this Saturday to within 70 miles of the lunar surface…. The Apollo 8 plan is for the astronauts to fly as many as 10 orbits around the moon before heading home. — Science News, December 21, 1968
Update
Apollo 8 launched on December 21, 1968, with astronauts Frank Borman, William Anders and James Lovell Jr. on board. After 10 revolutions around the moon — the first manned lunar orbits — the crew and spacecraft returned safely to Earth six days later, on December 27. And seven months later, Apollo 11 astronauts landed on the lunar surface.