Flight of
fancy
When Apollo
8 was exciting us as it made its fantastic voyage through space
to visit the moon, its achievements could be compared to the novel From
the Earth to the Moon written by the great fantasy author Jules Verne,
who described a moon landing in 1865.
When Jules Verne wrote his fictional tale, the aeroplane had yet to be invented!
| Apollo Eight | Verne | |
| Launch date | December 22 | December 11 |
| Crew | Three Men | Three Men |
| Ship | 12ft long | 12ft long |
| Top Speed | 24.200mph | 25,000mph |
| Orbit | 70 miles from the moon | 25 miles from moon |