page_title: Timeline of Solar System astronomy
section_title: 1958-1976
hierarchical_section_title: Timeline of Solar System astronomy / 1958-1976
caption_attribution_description: English: The world's first view of Earth taken by a spacecraft from the vicinity of the Moon. The photo was transmitted to Earth by the United States Lunar Orbiter I and received at the NASA tracking station at Robledo De Chavela near Madrid, Spain. This crescent of the Earth was photographed August 23, 1966 at 16:35 GMT when the spacecraft was on its 16th orbit and just about to pass behind the Moon.Reference Numbers: Center: HQCenter Number: 67-H-218GRIN DataBase Number: GPN-2000-001588
context_page_description: Timeline of Solar System astronomy
context_section_description: 1959 — Explorer 6 sends the first image of the entire earth from Space.
  1959 – Luna 3 sends the first images of another celestial body,  the Moon, from space, including its unseen far side.
  1962 – The Mariner 2 Venus flyby performs the first closeup observations of another planet
  1964 – The Mariner 4 spacecraft provides the first detailed images of the surface of Mars
  1966 – The Luna 9 Moon lander provides the first images from the surface of another celestial body
  1967 – Venera 4 provides the first information on Venus's atmosphere
  1968 – The Apollo 8 becomes the first manned lunar mission, providing historic images of the whole Earth.
  1970 – The Venera 7 Venus lander sends back the first information ever successfully obtained from the surface of another planet
  1971 – The Mariner 9 Mars spacecraft becomes the first to successfully orbit another planet. It provides the first detailed maps of the Martian surface, discovering much of the planet's topography, including the volcano Olympus Mons and the canyon system Valles Marineris, which is named in its honor.
  1971 – Mars 3 lands on Mars, and transmits the first partial image from the surface of another planet.
  1973 – Skylab astronauts discover the Sun's coronal holes.
  1973 – Pioneer 10 flies by Jupiter, providing the first closeup images of the planet and revealing its intense radiation belts.
  1973 — Mariner 10 provides the first closeup images of the clouds of Venus.
  1974 – Mariner 10 provides the first closeup images of the surface of Mercury.
  1975 – Venera 9 becomes the first probe to successfully transmit images from the surface of Venus.
caption: Earth taken from Lunar Orbiter 1 in 1966. Image as originally shown to the public displays extensive flaws and striping.
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