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A History of Earth Seen From Space

An exhibition in Paris presents 50 of the most beautiful Earthrises from the Apollo missions and rare images taken during the Mercury-Atlas missions.

NASA - Apollo 11. View of the Earth. July 17, 1969. Most of Africa, the Middle East and parts of Europe and Asia are visible in this spectacular panorama taken by the Apollo 11 spacecraft during its trans-lunar run to the Moon.

Striking view from the Apollo 8 spacecraft showing almost the entire Western Hemisphere, from the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, through Newfoundland, to Tierra del Fuego.

NASA - Apollo 10. View of the Earth. May 18 - 26, 1969. Extremely rare - This type of paper was only used by NASA officials for their personal use.

From 1968 to 1972, the Apollo missions formed a defining moment in the history of the conquest of space. During these missions, astronauts captured iconic photographs of the Earth from space, including the famous "Earthrise" images.

NASA - Apollo 17 - December 12, 1972.

While the photographs from the Apollo missions are very well documented, those from the Mercury-Atlas missions (1961-1963) are completely unknown. This was not one of NASA's concerns at the time. It took the GADCOLLECTION gallery in Paris several months of research to identify the origin of each image.

NASA – Mercury-Atlas 4 - Sept 13, 1961. Probably, the first photograph of Kenya, from Space.

NASA - Mercury-Atlas 9 - May 16, 1963. Extremely rare. Probably the first, human-taken, (astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr), photograph taken of Solomon Islands, from Space.

NASA - Mercury-Atlas 9 - May 16, 1963. Extremely rare. Probably the first, human-taken, (astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr), photograph taken of Himalayas in the India-Nepal-Tibet border area, from Space.

NASA - Mercury-Atlas 9 - South of Hawaii - May 16, 1963. Extremely rare - Probably the first, human-taken, (astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr), photograph taken of Hawaii from Space.

Many of these prints are unknown to the public. The images on display, in a remarkable state of preservation, offer a new vision of the Mercury-Atlas missions in their unique sepia tones in addition to the famous shots of the Apollo missions such as the most famous "Earthrise", captured during the Apollo 8 mission in 1968.

Apollo 8 - First man-made color photograph of Earthrise - December 24, 1968.

NASA - Apollo 17 - December 13, 1972. The Earth appears in the distant background above the lunar module antenna.

NASA - Apollo 11 - Earthrise - July 21, 1969. On this picture, there is all humanity except one person: the photographer!

"Earthrise / Earth Curve, A History of Earth seen from Space" at the GADCOLLECTION Gallery, 4 Rue du Pont Louis-Philippe, Paris. Until April 30, 2023.

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