The message was from the crew of Apollo 8, which was 240,000 miles from Earth. On Christmas Eve, Apollo 8 was circling the Moon in an orbit just sixty-nine miles above the cratered surface. The three astronauts on board were all looking forward to the trip home, which would begin in the morning. But first they were going to make a final broadcast for television. Back on Earth, half a billion people were waiting to see it.