The Heaven and the Earth

As I write these words, several hours before the onset of Passover on the evening of April 1, there is much going on in the world. The president is preparing to address the nation about the future of operations in Iran, as Iranian missiles continue to be fired at Israel and many countries in the Arab world. The state of the Strait of Hormuz is a fixation across the world. It seems understandable that most people have either forgotten or have no idea that at this moment astronauts are about to begin a mission to fly farther than human beings have ever flown and to orbit the moon for the first time in more than half a century.

The crewed launch of Artemis II—the first since Apollo 17 in 1972 to seek lunar orbit—marks more than an audacious mission; it embodies a return to the original ambitions of space flight. NASA has declared that the purpose of the Artemis mission is to pave the way to another moon landing and, ultimately, the creation of an earthly presence on the lunar surface. On the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11, one of the most eloquent advocates of space exploration, the late Charles Krauthammer, reflected on the failure of humanity to return to the moon in decades, musing that on its surface “are exactly 12 sets of human footprints—untouched, unchanged, abandoned. For the first time in history, the moon is not just a mystery and a muse, but a nightly rebuke.” Now, we have real reason to believe that those footprints may soon have companions. But rightly understood, the mission to achieve lunar orbit ought to remind us not only of the Apollo 11 landing—featuring Neil Armstrong’s immortal words about the small step and the giant leap—and Apollo 17, when Gene Cernan became the last human being to stroll the surface of the moon, but also Apollo 8, when the first lunar orbit was achieved.

Apollo 8 was manned by Frank Borman, William Anders, and Jim Lovell. On December 24, 1968, they spoke on live television to millions of Americans and internationally to a billion people. Surely, in part, because so much of America was preparing to celebrate Christmas that evening, the astronauts concluded their remarks with a scriptural message. But the work from which they read was older than Christian scripture, from a text the Jewish people gave to the world. “We are now approaching the lunar sunrise,” Bill Anders began, “and for all the people back on earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send you.” And then, one by one, they recited ancient words as a view of the earth appeared on their fellow citizens’ screens. Bill Anders began the Bible: