Apollo 8, launched December 21, 1968, was the first crewed mission to leave Earth's gravitational influence and orbit the Moon — ten orbits over twenty hours. The crew's Christmas Eve broadcast, during which Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders read from Genesis while viewers saw the first live television images from lunar orbit, drew an estimated one billion listeners worldwide. Fiji's commemorative program has long issued coins tied to space milestones, with silver-plated copper-nickel keeping these accessible as collectibles rather than bullion pieces.
Apollo 8, launched December 21, 1968, was the first crewed mission to leave Earth's gravitational influence and orbit the Moon — ten orbits over twenty hours. The crew's Christmas Eve broadcast, during which Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders read from Genesis while viewers saw the first live television images from lunar orbit, drew an estimated one billion listeners worldwide. Fiji's commemorative program has long issued coins tied to space milestones, with silver-plated copper-nickel keeping these accessible as collectibles rather than bullion pieces.