1968 In Spaceflight
The United States National Space Science Data Center catalogued 157 spacecraft placed into orbit by launches which occurred in 1968. The first crewed Apollo missions occurred in 1968. It was also the year in which Earth lifeforms first left low Earth orbit, during the successful Zond 5 mission, and the year that humans first left low Earth orbit, during the successful Apollo 8 mission. Launches :Key : : January April October December Deep space rendezvous Orbital Launch Summary References {{Orbital launches in 1968 1968 in science 1960s in transport 1968 The year was highlighted by Protests of 1968, protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechos ...

Earthrise
''Earthrise'' is a photograph of Earth and some of the Moon's surface that was taken from lunar orbit by astronaut William Anders on December 24, 1968, during the Apollo 8 mission. Nature photographer Galen Rowell described it as "the most influential environmental photograph ever taken". Anders's color image had been preceded by a crude black-and-white 1966 raster image taken by the Lunar Orbiter 1 robotic probe, the first American spacecraft to orbit the Moon. Details ''Earthrise'' was taken by astronaut William Anders during the Apollo 8 mission, the first crewed voyage to orbit the Moon. Before Anders found a suitable 70 mm color film, mission commander Frank Borman took a black-and-white photogr