There was no issue of the newspaper on Dec 26, 1968 on account of Quaid-i-Azam’s birth anniversary. The following extract is from the previous day’s issue.

HOUSTON: The incredible voyage of Apollo 8 swept the three astronauts into a Christmas eve orbit around the Moon today [Dec 24] and etched their names beside those of history’s great explorers.

“We’ve got it; we’ve got it; Apollo 8 is in lunar orbit,” Mission Control Centre reported after the spaceship emerged from a suspenseful 36 minutes when the astronauts were out of contact behind the backside of the Moon. — Agency

[Meanwhile, as reported by an agency in Cape Kennedy, Florida,] the US Apollo 8 astronauts today [Dec 24] beamed the first direct television pictures of the Moon from their spacecraft while skimming its surface. ... It showed a brightly-lit stretch of the Moon’s surface, including some craters. After a few minutes, the on-board camera was aimed another window, and the Moon’s horizon was clearly visible at the top of the picture.

This was the third television broadcast from Apollo 8 since it was launched last Saturday [Dec 21].

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2018