235. [Apollo 11] THE BLUE AND WHITE PLANET EARTH Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, or Michael Collins, 16-24 July 1969 Printed 1969. Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper [NASA image AS11-36-5373]. With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse, numbered "NASA AS11-36-5373" in red in the top margin (issued by NASA Manned Spacecraft Centre, Houston, Texas). 20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.) Historical context An incredible view of Earth, unpublished after the mission, captured through the 250mm telephoto lens from approximately 236,600 km (127,700 nautical miles) out in space. With north oriented upward, the eastern Pacific Ocean dominates the daylit portion of the planet, while the western coast of North America, including the Baja Peninsula, is clearly visible. Between December 1968 and December 1972, only 24 Apollo astronauts had the unique privilege of witnessing such breathtaking views of Earth as a complete disk from deep space. "I really believe that if the political leaders of the world could see their planet from a distance of 100,000 miles their outlook could be fundamentally changed. That all-important border would be invisible, that noisy argument silenced; The tiny globe would continue to turn, serenely ignoring its subdivisions, presenting a unified face that would cry out for unified understanding, for homogeneous treatment. Earth must become as it appears: blue and white, not capitalist or communist; blue and white, not rich or poor; blue and white, not envious or envied." —Michael Collins, July 2009 (Bizony, p. 99) From the mission transcript when the photograph was taken: 032:49:17 Collins: Oh, yeah, Charlie. I can see it [the Earth] through the sextant now, and I can see the coastline is clear. Those clouds are just inland a few miles. 032:49:26 Duke (mission control): Okay. We copy. [Long pause.] 032:49:49 Collins: Looks like the southeast part of the country is all socked in. [Pause.] 032:50:04 Collins: California looks nice. The San Joaquin Valley shows up as a real dark spot with a lighter brown on either side of it. You can't tell that it's green. It looks just sort of dark grey or maybe even real dark blue. 032:50:48 Duke: Roger, 11. Can you pick out Edwards [Air Force Base] in the sextant? Over. 032:50:58 Collins: I can see a 104 taxiing out for take-off on the runway. 032:51:03 Duke: Hey, man. That's super. 032:51:07 Collins: Pretty safe bet there's almost always a 104 taxiing out for take-off. [Long pause.] 032:51:48 Duke: 11, Houston. Could you pick out anything around Edwards, a dry lake or anything? Over. 032:51:56 Collins: Negative, Charlie. I just - I don't have that resolution. But to give you some idea, I can - on the lower Texas coast, I can see - knowing what I'm looking for, I can see Padre Island. I can just barely make out the fact that there's a thin spit of land and then there's a little dark zone which is the Laguna Madre between it and the mainland. 032:52:22 Duke: Roger, 11. That's pretty significant. Thank you much, Mike. 032:52:39 Collins: How far out are we, Charlie? 032:53:16 Duke: 11, Houston. The exact range is 125,200 [nautical] miles [231,870 km], and you're traveling 4,486 feet per second [1,367 m/s].