Two lunar craters named to mark 50th anniversary of Apollo 8

Two craters on the Moon have been named Anders's Earthrise and 8 Homeward to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 8 lunar mission.

The Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union officially approved the naming of the craters, which were previously designated by letters.

The newly named craters are visible in the foreground of the iconic Earthrise colour photograph taken by astronaut William Anders.

It depicts the moment that our shiny blue Earth came back into view as the spacecraft emerged out of the dark from behind the grey and barren Moon.

This is arguably the most famous picture taken by Apollo 8. It became iconic and has been credited with starting the environmental movement.

 

Since the Moon is tidally locked to the Earth -- it always has the same side facing the Earth -- the Earth will never appear to rise above the surface to someone standing on the lunar farside.

Orbiting around the Moon, however, gave the Apollo 8 astronauts, Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders this stunning view, before they safely returned home to Earth.

The Apollo 8 mission took place from 21 to 27 December 1968. After completing 10 orbits around the Moon on Christmas Eve, broadcasting images back to Earth and giving live television transmissions, the crew returned to Earth and landed in the Pacific Ocean.