Earthrise Quiz: Apollo 8 and the Photo of Earth Over the Moon

This earthrise quiz looks back at a blue planet rising over a grey Moon. Play 10 interactive questions on Apollo 8, the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders, Christmas Eve 1968, a scramble for color film, a Hasselblad camera, the Genesis reading broadcast, a postage stamp and the photo's role in the environmental movement.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Mission
Which mission produced Earthrise?
First
What first did Apollo 8 achieve?
Who
Which astronaut took the famous color photo?
Crew
Who else was on Apollo 8?
Date
On which day was Earthrise taken?
Film
What did the crew scramble to find?
Camera
Which camera brand was used?
Reading
What did the crew broadcast on Christmas Eve?
Stamp
How was Earthrise honored in 1969?
Impact
Which movement did Earthrise inspire?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which mission produced Earthrise?
Answer: Apollo 8
In December 1968.
Q2: What first did Apollo 8 achieve?
Answer: First crewed mission to orbit the Moon
A historic voyage.
Q3: Which astronaut took the famous color photo?
Answer: Bill Anders
Through a window.
Q4: Who else was on Apollo 8?
Answer: Frank Borman and Jim Lovell
A crew of three.
Q5: On which day was Earthrise taken?
Answer: 24 December 1968
Christmas Eve.
Q6: What did the crew scramble to find?
Answer: Color film
To capture the view.
Q7: Which camera brand was used?
Answer: Hasselblad
Specially adapted.
Q8: What did the crew broadcast on Christmas Eve?
Answer: A reading from Genesis
Heard by millions.
Q9: How was Earthrise honored in 1969?
Answer: On a US postage stamp
Widely reproduced.
Q10: Which movement did Earthrise inspire?
Answer: The environmental movement
Earth seemed fragile.

A Blue Planet Over a Grey Horizon

In December 1968, Apollo 8 became the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon, with astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders. On 24 December, as they came around the Moon, Earth appeared rising over the lunar horizon.

The crew scrambled to find color film, and Anders took the famous color photograph with a Hasselblad camera through a spacecraft window. That Christmas Eve, the crew broadcast a reading from Genesis heard by millions on Earth.

Earthrise appeared on a US postage stamp in 1969 and became one of the most influential photos ever. Showing Earth small and fragile against black space, it helped inspire the environmental movement.

What This Quiz Teaches

Space fans will enjoy these questions.

Which mission took it
Who took the photo
When it was taken
How the crew reacted
What it inspired

Did You Know?

Earth Day began in 1970.
Earthrise is often rotated with Earth on top.
The Moon's surface is grey in the image.
Apollo 8 orbited the Moon ten times.
The crew returned safely on 27 December.