In 1968 astronauts on the Apollo 8 mission – the first time humans orbited the moon – took the iconic ‘Earthrise’ image. Its evocative reversal of perspective captured our planet as a fragile marble of life suspended in an endless, inky-black void, rising above the moon’s barren surface.
The photograph has been credited with helping propel a burgeoning environmental movement and inspiring the creation of the annual ‘Earth Day’. According to Earth Day’s president, Kathleen Rogers, ‘Earthrise instilled a sense of urgency for those who were already on the front lines battling pollution and making the case that our health and planet were in danger’.
