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NEAR Looks at Antarctica

NEAR Looks at Antarctica
NEAR Looks at Antarctica One universally acclaimed benefit of space exploration is the new perspectives it gives us of our home planet. The curve of Earth's sphere was first seen in early suborbital flights. The people of Earth had their first chance to appreciate their planet as a bright blue disk floating in darkness—as an oasis in space—when humans on the to the Moon turned their camera back on their home world. In the decades since, a few interplanetary spacecraft have looked homeward on journeys to even more distant worlds. Voyager and Galileo each provided cover images for The Planetary Report, and now the ="" (near)="" craft="" joins="" that="" club.="" this="" view="" of="" the="" south="" pole="" earth="" was="" captured="" by="" near="" as="" it="" swung="" in="" january="" 1998.="" <="" near-earth=""> Northwestern University / APL / NASA