Apollo 5 (The First Moon Mission)
Apollo 5 was the first unmanned flight of the Apollo Lunar Module (LM), which would later bring NASA’s astronauts to the moon. The rocket lifted off on January 22, 1968, with a Saturn IB rocket on an Earth-orbital flight. The mission which was a huge success, but for many Americans, the Apollo 5 mission was overshadowed by two major events unfolding around the world.
Source: Drew Ex Machina
The day the Apollo 5 mission ended, North Korea captured the USSPueblo and its crew and then held them captive for 11 months. They only released the crew in December, as Apollo 8 was approaching the Moon. A week after Apollo 5, Americans were shocked by the Tet Offensive in Vietnam. These two events created a turbulent 1968.