Something special is happening in space right now
Until April of 2026, only 24 astronauts had ever left low-Earth orbit. The Apollo 11 crew, after safely returning to Earth from their historic voyage to the Moon, are shown in the Mobile Quarantine Facility alongside then-President Nixon. All 24 astronauts who journeyed to the Moon as part of the Apollo program, either orbiting or landing on it, were safely returned to Earth. Credit : NASA/JSC In 1968, Apollo astronaut Bill Anders тАФ one of the first тАФ captured this iconic photograph . This photograph, taken aboard the Apollo 8 mission and simply dubbed “Earthrise,” has often been called the most environmentally impactful photograph in human history. Its taker, Bill Anders, remarked, “When I looked up and saw the Earth coming up on this very stark, beat-up Moon horizon, I was immediately almost overcome with the thought, ‘Here we came all this way to the Moon, and yet the most significant thing we’re seeing is our own home planet, the Earth.'” Credit : NASA/Apollo 8 In 1972, humans journeyed to the Moon for the 9th time: aboard Apollo 17. The launch of Apollo 17, the 8th and final crewed mission that would go to the Moon as part of the Apollo program, was also the first nighttime liftoff of a Saturn V rocket, occurring on December 7, 1972. Credit : NASA Their “blue marble” image represented humanity’s best-ever view of the full Earth. The original “Blue Marble” image, from Apollo 17, was actually snapped in the orientation shown here: where
Something special is happening in space right now. For decades, the Moon has been a symbol of human ambition and exploration. Until April of 2026, only 24 astronauts had ever left low-Earth orbit, and all of them were part of the Apollo program. The Apollo 11 crew, after safely returning to Earth from their historic voyage to the Moon, were greeted by then-President Nixon in the Mobile Quarantine Facility. All 24 astronauts who journeyed to the Moon as part of the Apollo program, either orbiting or landing on it, were safely returned to Earth.
In 1968, Apollo astronaut Bill Anders captured an iconic photograph from aboard the Apollo 8 mission. Dubbed "Earthrise," this image has often been called the most environmentally impactful photograph in human history. Anders remarked, "When I looked up and saw the Earth coming up on this very stark, beat-up Moon horizon, I was immediately almost overcome with the thought, 'Here we came all this way to the Moon, and yet the most significant thing we're seeing is our own home planet, the Earth.'"
In 1972, humans journeyed to the Moon for the 9th time aboard Apollo 17. The launch of Apollo 17, the 8th and final crewed mission that would go to the Moon as part of the Apollo program, was also the first nighttime liftoff of a Saturn V rocket, occurring on December 7, 1972. The "blue marble" image from Apollo 17 represented humanity's best-ever view of the full Earth. The original "Blue Marble" image was actually snapped in the orientation where south is at the top and north is on the other side of the world. This image is now more than 50 years old, as humanity has transformed our planet in a myriad of ways both leading up to, and since, this image was obtained.
With Artemis II, humanity's lunar story now continues. On April 1, 2026, four humans launched aboard NASA's Space Launch System rocket, which carries the Orion spacecraft: the Artemis II mission. This marks the beginning of a new era of lunar exploration, as NASA aims to return humans to the Moon's surface by 2024 and establish a sustainable presence there. The Artemis program is not only about revisiting the Moon but also about paving the way for future missions to Mars and other destinations in space.
The images from the Apollo missions, like "Earthrise" and the "Blue Marble," have left an indelible mark on our understanding of Earth and our place in the universe. They remind us of the fragility of our planet and the importance of preserving it. As we look towards the future of space exploration, these iconic photographs serve as a reminder of our past achievements and the potential that lies ahead. The Artemis program, building on the legacy of the Apollo missions, is poised to redefine humanity's relationship with the Moon and inspire new generations of explorers and scientists.
