John Paul M. Joaquin Science 07.09.2022 09:Jul AM EDT

#SpaceSnap Did You Know That the Blue Marble Photo of the Earth was Taken by the Apollo 17 Crew?

Earth is our home, but that's not the only reason it is special. So far, it is the only planet teeming with life and the only planet that has liquid water. It has all the materials needed to create and sustain life and has taught us so much about our origins.

To be able to see the world in its entirety in color before our very eyes are certainly expected to be one of the most memorable things to happen, even when we're not in space.

As such, the "Blur Marble" picture evoked not just feelings of awe and amazement, but also of wonder and glory - to think and do such a feat collectively as a civilization.

Here's what you need to know about how that picture was taken:

(Photo : NASA)
View of the Earth as seen by the Apollo 17 crew -- astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, commander; astronaut Ronald E. Evans, command module pilot; and scientist-astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt, lunar module pilot -- traveling toward the moon. This translunar coast photograph extends from the Mediterranean Sea area to the Antarctica South polar ice cap. This is the first time the Apollo trajectory made it possible to photograph the South polar ice cap. Note the heavy cloud cover in the Southern Hemisphere. Almost the entire coastline of Africa is clearly visible. The Arabian Peninsula can be seen at the Northeastern edge of Africa. The large island off the coast of Africa is the Malagasy Republic. The Asian mainland is on the horizon toward the Northeast.

Apollo 17 Mission - Sending The Painter To Space

The Apollo 17 mission was launched on December 7, 1972, at 5:33 UTC, according to NASA. During that time, the space race was well underway, with the US continuously sending astronauts to the moon not only for research but also to show the world that humanity can still reach new heights.

For the astronauts involved in the Apollo 17 mission, its objective is to land on the moon and conduct scientific experiments based on the moon's soil, gravity, craters, and the solar radiation it receives.

However, this was the last mission in the Apollo program that explored the surface of the moon. Even so, the Apollo program didn't go out without a bang - it was the first mission that a scientist got to set foot on the moon to investigate it firsthand.

Sending scientific experts to the surface of the moon and in space eventually became a trend that never stopped with every space mission.

The astronauts of the Apollo 17 mission would later say farewell to the mission after a three-day stay on its surface, making it the last time that humanity set foot on the moon.

However, with the upcoming Artemis missions, humanity is bound to be back on the surface of the moon before long.

Blue Marble - An International Masterpiece

During the astronauts' journey to the moon, Harrison Schmitt picked up a 70mm Hasselblad Data camera and fired four shots of the whole Earth as their spacecraft steadily ascended high enough for the entire planet to fill the cockpit windows, according to Outside Online.

Schmitt's picture-taking follows an inquiry of fellow astronomer Eugene Cernan, who asked Mission Control's Robert Parker if the world is round.

Robert Parker is Mission Control's capsule communicator stationed at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Out of the pictures Schmitt took, NASA took the second and clearest photo of the bunch and published it to the rest of the world, making it the first time humanity ever saw the planet Earth in its entirety.

Life mentioned that not only did the picture allow us to see Africa, it allows us to recognize Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and Antertica's polar ice cap.

If that doesn't evoke a sense of awe and wonder, then nothing will.

The picture, which was eventually named "Blue Marble," eventually became the most reproduced image of all time, according to the White House's Obama archives.