Almost four minutes had passed since the ground station in Australia had picked up a signal from Apollo 8 from behind the Moon—an unthinkable delay. Then, over the static and hiss of the radio connection, a voice came through to Mission Control. “Houston, Apollo 8, over.” The voice was Lovell’s. “Hello, Apollo 8,” Mattingly answered. “Loud and clear.” “Roger,” Lovell said. “Please be informed—there is a Santa Claus.”
