Apollo 8 Christmas Eve Moon Mission Stone Coaster

The historic Apollo 8 moon mission was the first time that astronauts left the gravity of the planet Earth and entered orbit around our natural satellite, the Moon. These intrepid explorers made a Christmas Eve television broadcast in 1968, reading from the Book of Genesis while in lunar orbit. This event also witnessed the first time that the Earth was seen rising above the lunar horizon and hanging in the darkness of space. The Apollo spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean a few days later and was successfully recovered, completing the first manned mission to the Moon. The Apollo 11 lunar landing would follow in July of 1969. This is a souvenir to honor this historic event.