![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20080921084010im_/http://veimages.gsfc.nasa.gov//12906/apollo17_earth_gal.jpg)
Images & Animations
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Credit
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio
Apollo 17 30th Anniversary: Earth photo Drift-in
The Apollo 17 spacecraft was launched from the Kennedy Space Center at midnight on December 7th, 1972. Just hours after lift-off, the command module aligned with the Earth and Sun, allowing the crew to photograph Earth in full light. For the first time in an Apollo mission, the Antarctic continent was visible allowing for a photo to be taken by the orbiting astronauts. The photo was taken at about 28,000 statute miles away from Earth. Virtually every picture showing the full Earth is derived from this one photograph. Television, newspapers, websites, and marketing material have all used this photograph over the years. Geostationary weather satellites, Galileo, and many other spacecraft have returned great pictures of the full Earth from space, but this image is still the number one requested photo in the NASA photo archives.
Digital copy of the Apollo 17 full earth photograph.
Metadata
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Sensor
Apollo 17/Hasselblad 70mm Electric Camera -
Animation ID
2682 -
Video ID
SVS2002-0029 -
Start Timecode
01:03:13:00 -
End Timecode
01:04:04:27 -
Animator
Alex Kekesi -
Studio
SVS -
Visualization Date
2002/11/21 -
Datasets
Photo #AS17-148-22727 -
Keywords
picture, photography -
Data Date
photo:12/7/1972 -
Pao ID
G02-089 -
Animation Type
Regular