Venera 13 soft-landed on Venus in March 1982. It operated for about 2 hours before its instruments succumbed to the planet's tremendous heat. The image shows flat rocks and dark soil. The banded arm extending from the spacecraft on the far right was for matching color accurately. 17 Apollo 17 astronauts captured this unforgettable view of the Earth as they looked back toward home on their journey to the Moon.
White clouds swirl in the atmosphere, and blue oceans cover much of the planet.
The continent of Africa appears brown. On the northeast corner of the continent, and separated from it by the Red Sea, is the Saudi Arabian peninsula. East of Africa is the island of Madagascar. In the south, the white ice continent of Antarctica can be seen through the clouds. The layers of rock on its walls get older and older the deeper down the canyon you go.