Ranking the Apollo Missions

[JimMcDade]

If we assume that Apollo 11 was the most important and significant of the Apollo lunar missions, what Apollo mission would you consider to be the next most important Apollo? (Skylab and ASTP are excluded for this poll) Please make your choice.

[Rick]

Apollo 17 for sure.

Sending the first scientist astronaut to the moon should have occured on Apoll 14. As good as astronauts were trained to learn lunar geology, nothing replaces the real thing.

[JimMcDade]

I voted for Apollo 8, and here's why. Suppose for a moment that none of the Apollo moon landings had succeeded and that Apollos 11,12,14,15,16 and 17 had to perform alternate missions in either earth or lunar orbit. As Apollo 8 was the first mission to achieve mankind's ancient dream of flying to the moon, would it not be considered the most historic accomplishment of Apollo?

In my view, Apollo 8 has some similarities to the historic trans-Atlantic solo flight of Charles Lindbergh. The Apollo 8 crew really went where nobody had gone before. They had no Lunar Module lifeboat with them, so all of the Apollo Command & Service Module systems had to perform if they were to return home. Apollo 8 was also the very first time human beings flew on a Saturn V rocket and they went all the way to the moon! It was a very risky mission. Borman, Lovell and Anders knew that their odds of making it safely back to earth were not the best.

Apollo 8 also brought back those stunning color photos of our earth as it climbed above the lunar horizon. Those unprecedented, spectacular images touched millions of people and raised public awareness of how small and fragile our world is.

[JimMcDade]

Rick, That is a great point. For scientists, Apollo 17 was THEIR mission and Apollo 17 had tremendous value in increasing our knowledge of the moon and universe. My choice of Apollo 8 is probably more sentimental than objective, but I am going to keep it as my favorite #2. There are times when I actually think it was a bigger moment than Armstrong's step...but then I wake up.

[Rick]

I don't disagree, unless one was starving for scientific results from the moon rocks. It is definitely not the romantic side of the missions to the moon, but provided invaluable data that could not have been gleaned from lunar orbit.

[ATSF90East]

I also chose Apollo 8, and the reason is because aside from Apollo 11 this mission had the greatest perceived risk before the flight. Never before had anyone ventured beyond low earth orbit, and no one knew if they would be able to make it into lunar orbit, much less make it back home successfully.

Bruce Sebring

[JimMcDade]

Bruce, You summed it up well. The astronaut wives were well aware of the risks that their husbands were assuming. The Apollo 8 mission change decision was also one of the boldest and riskiest decisions NASA ever made. It was a calculated, but very dangerous gamble that paid off. Somebody needs to make a full-length feature film about Apollo 8. Apollo 13 is an awesome movie, but it would be fun to see how present-day movie making technology could portray the Apollo Saturn hardware.

Tom Hanks could reprise his role as Jim Lovell and Randy Quaid could play Lyndon Johnson once again!

Borman's career story has never been fully portrayed in a feature film. HBO's FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON highlighted his role in NASA's recovery from the fire, but there is a lot more about Borman that needs to be told.

There is even a Michael Collins angle that could played up the way Ken Mattingly's story was in Apollo 13.

Apollo 8 was also the first time that we some live TV from lunar space.