Astronauts recall the view from space before first Earth Day
When astronauts return from space, what they talk about isn't the brute force of the rocket launch or the exhilaration of zero gravity -- it's the view. And it's mankind's rarest view of all, Earth from afar.
Only two dozen men -- those who journeyed to the moon -- have seen the full Earth view. Most space travelers, in low orbit, see only a piece of the planet -- a lesser but still impressive glimpse. They have seen the curvature of Earth, its magnificent beauty, its fragility, and its lack of borders.
The first full view of Earth came from the moon-bound Apollo 8 during the waning days of a chaotic 1968. Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders put it in perspective in a documentary: "We came all this way to explore the moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth."
Some of the photos Anders took were used on posters and pins on the first Earth Day in 1970. They've been "an environmental staple of Earth Days ever since," said Denis Hayes, the first Earth Day coordinator.
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Only two dozen men -- those who journeyed to the moon -- have seen the full Earth view. Most space travelers, in low orbit, see only a piece of the planet -- a lesser but still impressive glimpse. They have seen the curvature of Earth, its magnificent beauty, its fragility, and its lack of borders.
The first full view of Earth came from the moon-bound Apollo 8 during the waning days of a chaotic 1968. Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders put it in perspective in a documentary: "We came all this way to explore the moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth."
Some of the photos Anders took were used on posters and pins on the first Earth Day in 1970. They've been "an environmental staple of Earth Days ever since," said Denis Hayes, the first Earth Day coordinator.