This famous image, one of the first of the Earth seen from another world, was taken by US astronauts on board the Apollo 8 spacecraft on 24th December 1968 as they orbited the Moon. The astronauts saw this view with the Moons surface at right, but the image is usually displayed in this orientation to show the Earth rising over the Moon. Along with the first photographs of the Earth from space, this photograph become iconic for its depiction of the beauty and fragility of the Earth.