 As they rounded the Moon for the ninth time , the second television transmission began . Borman introduced the crew , followed by each man giving his impression of the lunar surface and what it was like to be orbiting the Moon . Borman described it as being " a vast , lonely , forbidding expanse of nothing " . Then , after talking about what they were flying over , Anders said that the crew had a message for all those on Earth . Each man on board read a section from the Biblical creation story from the Book of Genesis . Borman finished the broadcast by wishing a Merry Christmas to everyone on Earth . His message appeared to sum up the feelings that all three crewmen had from their vantage point in lunar orbit . Borman said , " And from the crew of Apollo 8 , we close with good night , good luck , a Merry Christmas and God bless all of you — all of you on the good Earth . " 
