Blue Marble (2008)

Marjolijn Dijkman

Still of Blue Marble

The first ‘Blue Marble’ photo was taken on 7 December 1972 by the crew of the Apollo 17 spacecraft at a distance of about 29,000 kilometers or about 18,000 statute miles. This image became one of the most widely distributed images in the world. Blue Marble investigates the appropriations and impact of this image. Instead of a single neutral image of the whole world this animation reveals a collective image compiled of over 1500 images representing all sorts of projections on the world as a whole.

The photo (negative AS17-148-22727) was originally taken ‘upside down’ in that the north pole was at the bottom of the photo. This is because of the orientation in which the astronauts were traveling at that moment. Since its release it has been used by ecological movements to illustrate the 'fragile' position of the planet Earth.

Online publication: Blue Marble