60 years ago NASA took the first ever photo of Earth from the moon—and began a legacy

Sixty years ago, NASA captured the very first photograph of Earth from the moon. On August 23, 1966, the uncrewed Lunar Orbiter 1 took the image. Since then, the photograph's legacy has continued to inspire others. In April of this year, NASA astronaut Christina Koch snapped a similar photo of Earth setting behind the lunar surface during the Artemis II mission.

The image drew comparisons to the iconic "Earthrise" photograph, which was taken by astronaut Bill Anders during the Apollo 8 mission in 1968. However, Koch's image has an even earlier inspiration. August 23 is the anniversary of the first time Earth was photographed from the vicinity of the moon. Taken by Lunar Orbiter 1 on that date in 1966, the picture was part of the spacecraft's mission to take close-up photos of the moon, particularly nine potential landing sites for the upcoming Apollo missions.

Launched on August 10, Lunar Orbiter 1 was designed to orbit the moon for a year. However, after just a few months of its mission, NASA engineers discovered the spacecraft's condition had deteriorated beyond repair. To prevent any interference with the upcoming Lunar Orbiter 2, NASA commanded Lunar Orbiter 1 to crash into the moon's far side on its 577th orbit on October 29, 1966.

Despite its short-lived mission, Lunar Orbiter 1's legacy lives on. Its image of Earth from space continues to inspire awe and wonder, just as "Earthrise" continues to do so over half a century later.