December 21 marks the 40th anniversary of Apollo 8 and its successful mission to orbit the moon. This flight paved the way for the first human landing on the moon by the astronauts of Apollo 11, on July 21 1969.

During the Apollo 8 flight, crewmembers Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders became not only the first humans to orbit another celestial body, but also the first to witness the 'Earthrise' as the Earth came into view from behind the moon. This spectacular sight was caught on camera and has become one of the most iconic images of the 20th Century.

It is time to thank all of our FAI members, media representatives and readers of these newsletters who have helped us during the year to spread the FAI News and disseminate information about our events and activities in 2008.

We wish you health and happiness as this year comes to an end and we send you our Season's greetings as we look forward to another busy year in the world of air sports in 2009.

Recent World Record Claims and Competition Update

Recent FAI world record claims received by the FAI Secretariat and Category 1 Events update.

A major activity of the FAI is the homologation and registration of aeronautical and astronautical world records; each year the FAI Secretariat issues around 300 certificates to successful claimants. To date the FAI database of world records contains over 15,000 entries, the majority of which are available on the FAI website http://records.fai.org. Read the story behind one of these new world records.