Space flight brought a new perspective – for the first time, Earthlings saw their planet from afar. Three photos of Earth, which we will look at here, are especially famous.

Man flew into space, but discovered the Earth. This is a paradox and perhaps rather banal, but important and true. For the most important lesson of space travel isn’t about the infinite expanse of space, distant planets and constellations, but about the planet we set off from. And about us.

In the golden years of space travel (an era which, for now, is over), it was typical to hear talk of “conquering” or even “colonizing” space. Indeed, in the 1960s or 1970s, it might have seemed that a great future for mankind in space was within our grasp. This is not surprising, because the early years were electrifying. Barely three years passed between the launch of Earth’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik I (1957) and the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin (1961). Furthermore, barely eight years later (1969), Neil