Date: December 24, 1968
Photographer: William Anders – American Astronaut on Apollo 8
Details: As the Cold War intensified between the United States and the Soviet Union, space became a key battleground, with both sides competing to reach the Moon first. This competition led to a frantic race involving both unmanned probes and manned missions. The Apollo 8 mission, which launched between December 21-27, 1968, was the first manned spacecraft to leave Earth’s orbit and travel to the Moon. Onboard were astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders. They orbited the Moon ten times over the course of twenty hours without landing and conducted a highly-watched Christmas Eve broadcast before safely returning to Earth.
During this historic mission, astronaut William Anders captured the iconic “Earthrise” photograph from lunar orbit at 15:40 UTC. Prior to this, astronaut Frank Borman had taken an earlier black-and-white photo of the same view, but Anders’s color image is the one that gained prominence. The crew had an engaging exchange while taking the photo:
Anders: “Oh my God! Look at that picture there! There’s the Earth coming up… Wow… That’s beautiful.” Borman: (joking) “Hey, don’t take that… it’s not scheduled.” Anders: (laughing) “Did you get some color film, Jim? Hand me the color film quickly.” Lovell: “Man, that’s fantastic!”
As Anders’s colleague searched for the color film, the view temporarily vanished, but fortunately, it reappeared in other windows of the spacecraft. Anders managed to capture several more images of Earth. Upon the mission’s return, NASA technicians processed the film, which took four hours due to the limited availability of color photo processing at the time. The photos were developed and released to the media three days later. Anders, who held a Master’s degree in nuclear engineering and was considered the scientific member of the crew, took this crucial photograph which would later become one of the most influential images in history.
Although not the first image of Earthrise—previously captured in black and white by the Lunar Orbiter 1—the Apollo 8 Earthrise was notable for being the first color photograph taken by a human with a camera. Anders reflected on the experience, saying, “It seemed that as we set out to explore the Moon, we discovered Earth instead.” He added, “I thought about my wife and my five children on this small planet, which appeared even smaller compared to the space we were in. From my vantage point, the Earth shone with its blue and white splendor against the blackness of space.”
This photograph, often hailed as one of the most powerful environmental images ever taken, captured the imagination of many and was described by nature photographer Galen Rowell as the most influential environmental image ever created. It was also ranked among the greatest photographs in history by TIME magazine and one of the top 100 images that changed the world by LIFE magazine.
