On Earth Day 2026, we reflect on our home planet through the lens of historic space missions. The iconic "Earthrise" photograph, taken by astronaut William Anders during NASA's Apollo 8 mission on December 24, 1968, is widely credited with helping to galvanize the modern environmental movement. It was the first color image of Earth taken by humans from lunar orbit.
Subsequent missions have continued to capture stunning views. The "Blue Marble" image, a detailed photograph of a fully illuminated Earth, was taken by the crew of Apollo 17 on December 7, 1972. More recently, astronauts aboard the International Space Station routinely share breathtaking images of Earth's continents, oceans, and weather patterns.
Looking ahead, NASA's Artemis II mission, currently scheduled for a September 2025 launch, will carry a crew of four astronauts—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—on a lunar flyby. They will become the first humans to travel to the vicinity of the Moon since 1972 and are expected to capture new, profound perspectives of Earth from deep space.
