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First Lunar Earthrise, Old and New

earth rising over lunar horizon in two images, the original and the smoother, restored version
Image Credit: NASA/Ames Research Center/Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project
Published: August 24, 2018
Historical Date: August 23, 1966

On Aug. 23, 1966, NASA's Lunar Orbiter 1 snapped the first photo of Earth as seen from lunar orbit. While a remarkable image at the time, the full resolution of the image was never retrieved from the mission's data. In 2008, this earthrise image was restored by the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project at NASA Ames Research Center.

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