Several NASA Amateur Radio clubs will mark the 50th anniversary of Apollo 8 on December 21 – 27, concluding the year-long NASA on the Air activity, which celebrates NASA’s 60th anniversary. The agency was created in 1958 through an act signed by President Dwight Eisenhower.

Apollo 8 was launched on December 21, 1968, and splashed down 6 days later on December 27. It was the first manned spacecraft to leave low-Earth orbit, orbit the moon, and return safely.

Special event operation will be on various bands and modes, and participating stations will self-spot on the DX cluster as well as via Facebook and Twitter.

Contact Rob Suggs, KB5EZ, at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center for more information.