Skip to content

MARS Associates

For Retirees of LM, ULA, and Legacy Companies

  • Home
  • About
    • MARS Officers & Directors
    • Policy Documents
    • MARS Overview
  • Benefits
    • Dental Plans
    • Vision Plans
    • Hearing Aid Discounts
    • Pre-Medicare
    • Understanding Medicare
    • VIA Benefits
    • ULA Benefits Contacts
    • Local Discounts
    • LM Corporate Discounts
    • Tax Adjustments
    • Informational Sessions Presentations
    • What to do when your loved one dies
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Full Year Calendar
    • Special Activities
      • Special Event Planning Steps
    • Event Photos
  • Membership
    • Membership Renewal
    • New Member Application
    • Member Contact
    • Volunteer
    • MARS Logo Store
  • Clubs
    • Bridge Club
    • MARS Car Club
    • Golf Club
    • Hiking Club
    • PACESETTERS Club
    • Photography Club
    • LM Clubs & Leagues
  • Communications
    • MARS STAR
      • Archive
    • In Memoriam
    • Website Team
  • History
    • On This Day
    • MARS Moments
    • Brief History of LM Denver
    • Martin Marietta Archives
  • Toggle search form

On this day – December 24

Posted on December 24, 2024November 29, 2024 By Barb Sande

The events on this day in history for our heritage companies are noted below.

The earliest event was in 1958, the latest event was in 2004

One milestone event (5 to 65+ years ago)

Human Spaceflight:

1968 – Apollo 8 enters lunar orbit

Military and Classified Programs:

1965 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Corona 124, Thor SLV-2A/Lockheed Agena D, SLC1W, VAFB

Exploration and Interplanetary Programs:

2004 – Cassini mission Huygens probe release successful; landing occurred on January 14, 2005 – MILESTONE: 20 years ago

Earth-Monitoring and Civil Weather Satellite programs:

NONE

Commercial Programs:

NONE

Test, ICBM, FBM programs:

1958 – LAUNCH: GD Atlas C, LC12, CCAFS

Other:

NONE

The photos today are from two missions.  First, there is a cutaway image of the Huygens probe  – this ESA landing spacecraft was deployed by Cassini on this day in 2004 to head to the Saturnian moon Titan for a landing on January 14, 2005.  Lockheed Martin built the DISR (Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer) for ESA to use on the Huygens lander. There will be more information about the DISR in the January 14 events.  Image Credit: NASA/GSFC. 

The second photo is the view of Earth from lunar orbit on the Apollo 8 mission.  Photo Credit: NASA. I remember this event vividly – we came out of Christmas Eve services at our church and found we had a flat tire on the car.  My Dad changed the tire while my Mom and I listened to the news reports on the radio about the astronauts in orbit of the moon and we loved hearing them read the story of Genesis. 

December 24 – Cutaway views of Huygens probe/lander. Image credit: NASA/GSFC.
December 24 – View of Earthrise from lunar orbit, Apollo 8. Photo Credit: NASA.
On This Day

Post navigation

Previous Post: On this day – December 23
Next Post: On this day – December 25

Related Posts

  • On this day – July 31 On This Day
  • On this day – October 31 On This Day
  • On this day – July 26 On This Day
  • On this day – January 14 On This Day
  • On this day – August 18 On This Day
  • On this day – January 20 On This Day

More Related Articles

On this day – October 8 On This Day
On this day – August 17 On This Day
On this day – October 24 On This Day
On this day – September 16 On This Day
On this day – November 27 On This Day
On this day – April 26 On This Day

About us

MARS Associates
PO Box 1128
Littleton, CO 80160-1128

Suggestion Box

Find us on Facebook

Copyright © 2025 MARS Associates