1st photo of Earth from the moon, in 1966

Lunar Orbiter 1 captured this 1st image of the Earth from the moon on August 23, 1966. Image via NASA/Lunar Orbiter 1.

1st photo of Earth from the moon

On August 23, 1966, Lunar Orbiter 1 took the first-ever photo of Earth from the moon. It shows half of the Earth, shot with 1960s technologies, seen from the moon’s distance of 236,000 miles (380,000 km). And in the image, you can see the Earth from Istanbul to Cape Town with areas east, shrouded in night. The image isn’t very detailed. But it’s mind-boggling to think about, especially with the Artemis program – a new space program that’ll return humans to the moon by the middle of this decade – poised to send the first of its three missions to the moon aloft on August 29.

Lunar Orbiter 1 was one of five Lunar Orbiters sent to the moon in the 1960s by NASA. The Lunar Orbiter’s priority was to take photographs of the moon. That’s because they were preparing for the manned Apollo mission three years later. Read about the Lunar Orbiter missions, 1966-1967

As you can see, the photo taken in 1966, reveals no detail on Earth’s surface. Surely, this photo stunned those on Earth who finally saw our home planet from the moon.

Years later, a digitally enhanced version

Then, NASA released a newly restored version of the original 1966 image of Earth in 2008. That’s because, NASA used refurbished machinery and modern digital technology. Consequently, the new image is higher resolution than what was possible when it was originally taken. Wow! What a difference.

The impressive restored image of the Earth from the moon is below.

In 2008, NASA restored this 1st image of Earth from moon. The original image was taken by Lunar Orbiter 1. NASA used photographic techniques that were not available when that early spacecraft originally acquired this historic photo. Read more about this photo from NASA.

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Bottom line: As NASA prepares to send Artemis 1 to the moon, it’s fun to see this 1st-ever moon photo of Earth from the moon, taken on August 23, 1966.

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