Earthrise

In doing my ongoing research on the NASA space program, I rediscovered this amazing moment in time. One of our first images of the Earth rising over the Moon. Some of you may remember the first introduction to an Earthrise in the old Tang commercial? The first view of Earthrise was seen from Apollo 8. The image pictured above is from NASA archive footage of Apollo 11. The quote below originated from an astronaut with the Apollo 14 mission.

The sense of wonder and achievement we once had in the space program has been lost, but for me, this sight rekindled that giddy feeling of discovery, of seeing the universe from brand new perspectives for the very first time.

The eloquent quote featured on this poster is by Astronaut Edgar Mitchell of Apollo 14:

"Suddenly, from behind the rim of the moon, in long, slow-motion moments of immense majesty, there emerges a sparkling blue and white jewel, a light, delicate sky-blue sphere laced with slowly swirling veils of white, rising gradually like a small pearl in a thick sea of black mystery. It takes more than a moment to fully realize this is Earth . . . home."

Our venture into space over the last four decades has forever changed our destiny and our understanding of the universe. Going forward, as part of my Put the Science Back in Science Fiction Romance campaign, I'll be continuing my Space Savvy series of articles focusing on the NASA missions.

For anyone interested in purchasing the poster, try a search on Google, Amazon or other sites for Earthrise. I don't want to endorse a product I haven't yet seen but I've placed an order for the poster shown above from the Tranquility Posters site.