Timeline of first images of Earth from space explained

Photography and other imagery of planet Earth from outer space started in the 1940s, first from rockets in suborbital flight, subsequently from satellites around Earth, and then from spacecraft beyond Earth's orbit.

Timeline

Image Date Craft or mission Event

October 24, 1946First images of Earth from outer space,[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] flight monitoring continuous imaging, resulting in a time-lapse-movie reel. Not published as Earth observation images until 1950.[9] Taken by the V-2 No. 13 suborbital spaceflight.
March 7, 1947First dedicated and first published Earth observation images from outer space, first published on March 25, 1947.[10] [11] [12]
July 26, 1948First prepared wide-angle panorama of Earth from outer space (the 1946 flight did already record a panorama swing).
October 5, 1954Aerobee AJ10-24RTV-N-10bThe first color image from space as part in the left corner of this first color photomosaic of Earth from space,[13] composed of 117 images taken from an altitude of .[14] [15]
February–March 1959First attempt of a scanner, in which a single photocell mounted at the focus of telescope would scan Earth due to the satellite movement; resulting images were poor.[16]
August 14, 1959Explorer 6First image of Earth from orbit, showing a sunlit area of the Central Pacific Ocean and its cloud cover.[17] [18] [19] [20]
1959Explorer 7The first "coarse maps of the solar radiation reflected by the Earth and the infrared radiation emitted by the Earth", from a mission launched on October 13, 1959.[21]
1960First television image of Earth from space and first weather satellite picture.[22]
August 18, 1960CORONA"First space-based Earth observation system"; its first successful mission was Discoverer 14 on 19 August 1960 with the recovery of photographic film from an orbiting satellite.[23] [24]
August 6, 1961Vostok 2First image, color images and movie of Earth from space taken by a person, by cosmonaut Gherman Titov – the first photographer from space.[25] [26]
1963KH-7 GambitFirst high-resolution (sub-meter spatial resolution) satellite photography (classified).[27]
1964QuillFirst radar images of Earth from space, using a synthetic aperture radar (SAR).[28] This shows part of Richmond, Virginia.
March 18, 1965Voskhod 2First image and movie of Earth with a human (Alexei Leonov) floating in space (the first ever EVA).[29]
March 18, 1965Voskhod 2First drawing of Earth from space and art made in space (by Leonov, the first artist in space).[30]
May 30, 1966Molniya 1-3 First full-disk pictures of the Earth, published in Review of Popular Astronomy July–August.[31]

August 23, 1966Lunar Orbiter 1First image of Earth from another astronomical object (the Moon) and first picture of both Earth and the Moon from space.[32] [33]
December 11, 1966ATS-1First picture of both Earth and the Moon from the Earth's orbit.
First full-disk pictures of the Earth from a geostationary orbit.[34]
January 1967First movie of Earth from space made without a human camera operator (contrast to Titov's 1961 movie)
April 24, 1967[35] Surveyor 3First images and view of a sunset and sunrise over Earth at the same time, a solar eclipse by Earth (a celestial body other than the Moon), from the Moon's surface.[36] [37]
April 30, 1967First color image of Earth from another astronomical object's surface, the Moon's surface.[38]
September 20, 1967 (released November 10th)First full-disk black-and-white filtered[39] color picture of the Earth.
November 10, 1967ATS-3First full-disk "true color"[40] picture of the Earth; subsequently used on the cover of the first Whole Earth Catalog.[41] [42]
December 21, 1968Apollo 8First full-disk image of Earth from space taken by a person, probably by astronaut William Anders.[43]
December 24, 1968The first photograph of Earth taken by a human (Frank Borman) from another astronomical object (the Moon).[44]
The Earthrise image is the first color image of Earth from the Moon by a person (William Anders), moments after Borman's black-and-white photograph.
July 21, 1969The much reproduced full frame image AS11-40-5903 of Buzz Aldrin, happens to be the first indirect image of Earth taken by a person from the surface of another astronomical object (from the Moon), having by accident in his visor a reflection of Earth.[45]
First direct image of Earth taken by a person from the surface of another astronomical object (from the Moon), (AS11-40-5923).[46]
November 24, 1969First images (black-and-white and 16mm color film) of a solar eclipse with the Earth, taken by a human, when the Apollo 12 spacecraft aligned its view of the Sun with the Earth.[47] [48]
December 7, 1972Apollo 17First fully illuminated color image of the Earth by a person (AS17-148-22725).[49] This photo was taken just before a second shot with the same perspective was taken, which became cropped and processed the widely used Blue Marble picture (AS17-148-22727).[50] [51]
July–September 1973Skylab 3Early color image of an aurora by a human from space.[52] [53]
1977KH-11First real-time satellite imagery.[54]
September 18, 1977Voyager 1First full-disk picture of both Earth and the Moon.
February 14, 1990The Pale Blue Dot is the first image of Earth from beyond all of the other Solar System planets. It is part of the first picture of the full extent of the planetary system, known as the Family Portrait.[55]
December 11, 1990GalileoFirst movie of a full rotation of Earth.[56]
August 11, 1999Mir EO-27 (Perseus)First view of the shadow of the Moon projected onto Earth during a total solar eclipse (photograph taken by Jean-Pierre Haigneré).
October 13, 1999IKONOSFirst commercial high-resolution (sub-meter) satellite photography (non-classified); it made the cover of the New York Times.[57]
May 8, 2003 13:00 UTCMars Global SurveyorFirst image of Earth and the Moon from Mars (in orbit); notice South America is visible.[58]
March 11, 2004Spirit Mars Exploration roverFirst image taken of Earth from the surface of Mars and any celestial body other than the Moon.
July 27, 2006Cassini-HuygensThe Pale Blue Orb is the first image of Earth from Saturn.[59]
October 8, 2014MESSENGERThe first image of Earth's shadow causing a lunar eclipse from another planet. Taken from Mercury (in orbit) of the October 2014 lunar eclipse.[60] [61]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: First Photo From Space. October 24, 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20210129004546/https://www.airspacemag.com/space/the-first-photo-from-space-13721411/. January 29, 2021. live.
  2. Web site: The First Image of Earth Taken From Space (It's Not What You Think). . August 6, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20200808225921/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/08/the-first-image-of-earth-taken-from-space-its-not-what-you-think/260755/. August 8, 2020. live.
  3. Web site: First photo of Earth from space was from deadly rocket. February 26, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20201108190008/https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27036-first-photo-of-earth-from-space-was-from-deadly-rocket/. November 8, 2020. live.
  4. Web site: 70 years ago the first image of Earth was taken from space. October 26, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161029071002/https://www.geoawesomeness.com/70-years-ago-first-image-earth-taken-space/. October 29, 2016. live.
  5. Web site: The First Photo of Earth From Space Was Taken 70 Years Ago Today. October 24, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161027194050/http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/a23518/first-photo-of-earth-from-space-70-years/. October 27, 2016. live.
  6. Web site: Viewing The Earth From Space Celebrates 70 Years. . August 22, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160823175253/https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2016/08/22/viewing-the-earth-from-space-celebrates-70-years/. August 23, 2016. live.
  7. Web site: Space Photos Before NASA: The Oldest Images Of Earth. . October 28, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171028161726/https://www.ibtimes.com/space-photos-nasa-oldest-images-earth-2607225. October 28, 2017. live.
  8. Web site: The first photograph of Earth taken from space. October 24, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20180617073724/https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/the-first-photograph-of-earth-taken-from-space/. June 17, 2018. live.
  9. Web site: T. A. Bergstrahl Publishes the First Book of Photographs of the Earth Taken From Space : History of Information . History of Information . 2020-11-19 . 2023-03-12 . March 12, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230312215637/https://historyofinformation.com/detail.php?entryid=4722 . live .
  10. Web site: The first photograph from 100 miles out in space, March 7, 1947, Camera on V2 rocket . Christies.com . 1947-03-07 . 2023-03-12 . March 12, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230312212938/https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/voyage-another-world-victor-martin-malburet-photograph-collection/first-photograph-100-miles-out-space-march-7-1947-2/104999 . live .
  11. Web site: NASA Electronics Pioneer Dies at 85 . NASA . 2003-11-04 . 2023-03-12 . March 12, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230312214517/https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/postsecondary/features/john_mengel_pioneer_prt.htm . dead .
  12. Web site: First Pictures of Earth From 100 Miles in Space, 1947. March 6, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090307095104/https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1298.html. March 7, 2009. live.
  13. Web site: Theoret . Jeremy . FIRST COLOR PHOTO OF EARTH FROM SPACE - THE BERG FILM I . Apollospace . 2023-02-06 . 2023-03-12 . March 12, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230312192712/https://apollospace.com/first-color-photo-of-earth-berg-film-i/ . live .
  14. Web site: Photo-Mosaic, Aerobee National Air and Space Museum . 2023-01-07 . airandspace.si.edu . en . January 7, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230107011652/https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/photo-mosaic-aerobee/nasm_A19620042000 . live .
  15. Web site: 541005-N-NO204-0001 . 2023-01-07 . www.nrl.navy.mil . en-US . January 7, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230107005337/https://www.nrl.navy.mil/News-Media/Images/igphoto/2002941071/ . live .
  16. Web site: Vanguard II Turns 60. April 23, 2019. March 27, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210318190307/https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/blogs/earthmatters/2019/04/23/vanguard-ii-turns-60/. March 18, 2021. live.
  17. News: Explorer 6: 60 years since first Earth photo from space. August 7, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190808002837/https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/49251998. August 8, 2019. live.
  18. Web site: 60 years ago first satellite image of Earth. September 7, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20200907052241/https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/blog/60-years-ago-first-satellite-image-of-earth. September 7, 2020. live.
  19. Web site: 60 Years Ago We Saw Earth From Space for the First Time — Here's How We See It Now. August 22, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190823013229/https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/space-astronomy/history-of-earth-photographed-from-space-pale-blue-dot. August 23, 2019. live.
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  22. Anderson. George D.. April 1, 2010. The first weather satellite picture . Weather. 65. 4. 87. 10.1002/wea.550. 1477-8696. 2010Wthr...65...87A.
  23. Web site: 2005 Draper Prize – Corona Historic Images. NAE Website. October 12, 2020. February 22, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220222235144/https://www.nae.edu/8889/page2005DraperPrize-CoronaHistoricImages12150. live.
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  30. Web site: Brown . Mark . First picture drawn in space to appear in cosmonauts show in London . the Guardian . 2015-08-31 . 2021-06-09 . March 13, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220313222913/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/aug/31/first-picture-space-cosmonauts-science-museum-alexei-leonov . live .
  31. News: Spaceship Earth: The first photos . Joel Achenbach . . January 3, 2012 . June 16, 2020 . June 16, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200616054750/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/achenblog/post/spaceship-earth-the-first-photos/2012/01/03/gIQAzXF5XP_blog.html . live .
  32. Web site: Stein . Ben P. . 45 Years Ago: How the 1st Photo of Earth From the Moon Happened . Space.com . August 23, 2011 . October 7, 2020 . July 9, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220709124723/https://www.space.com/12707-earth-photo-moon-nasa-lunar-orbiter-1-anniversary.html . live .
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  34. Web site: The 50th Anniversary of ATS-1 . NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) . 6 December 2016 . 5 October 2020 . September 2, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210902120602/https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/content/50th-anniversary-ats-1 . live .
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