The "Blue Marble", taken by the Apollo 17 crew in 1972, is one of the most reproduced images in history.
On 7 December 1972, about five hours after launch, the crew of Apollo 17 looked back at Earth and took a photograph of the whole planet, fully lit by the Sun behind them.
The image, known as the "Blue Marble", shows Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the south polar ice cap. It became one of the most widely reproduced photographs in history and a symbol of the environmental movement.
Apollo 17 was the last crewed mission to the Moon of the 20th century. More than fifty years passed before astronauts travelled that far from Earth again, on the Artemis II mission in 2026.
Image: View of the Earth seen by the Apollo 17 crew traveling toward the moon. Credit: NASA. Source, NASA media guidelines.
Comments
I had this picture on my wall as a child. It still looks amazing.