I am Kate Calvin, NASA's chief scientist and senior climate adviser,
and I'm sitting down with Bill Anders, who took the famous Earthrise photo.
[music swells]
[Audio from the Apollo 8 mission]: Oh, God, look at that picture over there.
That's the Earth comin’ up.
Wow, is that pretty!
So most of us only get to see what's right in front of us.
The sidewalk, the building, the trees.
But when you were in space, you had this opportunity
to see the planet as a whole, this beautiful blue planet.
What was that like?
Well, before we got to the Moon, I was able to look back at the Earth,
and it was about the size of my fist at arm's length.
And you really couldn't see any details.
It was kind of, uh, you couldn't see the continents even, you know, and even the people from orbit,
you don't see many manmade features, if any, from space.
But I thought that it it was really kind of a — it was at Christmas time
and it was like a fragile Christmas tree ornament.
And I thought to myself, you know, it's too bad we don't treat it
more like a Christmas tree ornament.
And then when I was lucky enough
to take the iconic Earthrise picture,
which basically kicked off the Earth Day and that kind of thing —
it's really too bad you know, we're shooting missiles and rockets
and whatnot at each other on this tiny little place we call home.
It's the only home in the universe for us humans.
And, you know, it's too bad we don't treat it a little better.
We're approaching the 53rd Earth Day.
And as you said, Earthrise has had a tremendous impact
on people and the environmental movement.
What do you think the biggest impacts were both then and now of the Earthrise photo?
Well, it people realize that the planet was
a fragile, delicate.
Clearly, mankind has not been kind to the planet.
But could you tell the story of taking Earthrise?
We had ...
I think they gave me a little bit of photography training.
I had a camera I took home, a Hasselblad,
took a few pictures, but, you know, no —
didn't even have a light meter on our flight.
And so we were in lunar orbit
upside down and going backwards.
So for the first several revolutions,
we didn't see the Earth
and didn't really think about that.
And then we righted ourselves,
you know, heads up and twisted the spacecraft
so it was going forward and while Frank Borman was in the process
of doing that, suddenly I saw the corner of my eye this color.
It was shocking.
[Audio from Apollo 8 mission] Anders: Oh, my God. Look at that picture over there!
There’s the Earth coming up.
Wow, is that pretty!
[Sound effect of a camera click] Anders: You got a color film, Jim?
Hand me a roll of color, quick, would you?
Jim Lovell: Oh, man, that’s great! Where is it? Anders: Hurry. Quick.
[Anders continues] So I managed to get Lovell to get me
a color magazine, put the long lens on, and started snapping away.
[Audio from Apollo 8 mission] Lovell:Got it? Anders: Yep.
Lovell: Take several, take several of ‘em!
Here, give it to me.
Anders: Wait a minute, just let me get the right setting here now, just calm down.
Calm down, Lovell!
[Sound effect of camera click] Lovell: Well I got it right — aw, that’s a beautiful shot.
Lovell: Now vary — vary the exposure a little bit.
Anders: I did. I took two of ‘em here.
Lovell: You sure you got it now?
Anders: Yeah, we’ll get — well, it’ll come up again I think.
Without a light meter, I really didn't know what to set it,
so I just took the f-stop and just took a shot,
moved it, took a shot, moved it and, and
then really didn't think that much about it.
I think had I not taken the Earthrise picture, you know, Bill, who?
You know? [laugh]
I have it hanging on the wall of my office.
Anders: Is that right?
Calvin: It's a reminder every day of why we do this:
for science, for inspiration, for innovation.
Anders: Yeah Clavin: for home.
Anders: Yeah.
Anders: It makes people think, you know,
this fragile little ball we live on.
Calvin: Yeah. Beautiful fragile ball.
Anders: Hadn’t made him think enough, but they do think.
Earth is one of our most important missions at NASA
and we're continuing to use that vantage point of space
the image that you saw.
We continue to look at Earth and see how it's changing.
What words of wisdom would you give future scientists, astronauts
or the next generation?
Certainly viewing of space
from — of Earth, from space like Landsat, which I fought for,
and from the space station, looking down the Earth.
Calvin: I think Landsat is how most people see Earth.
We get to see a lot of 50 years worth of Landsat imagery.
And Landsat has been a, to my knowledge, been quite a helpful program.
Yeah, it's been tremendous both in showing the planet and how it changes
but also providing information to landowners everywhere. Anders: Right.
So you're known for one of the
most poetic quotes about going to the moon and discovering Earth.
Can you tell us about that?
It's hard for me to imagine I actually said it because it's so poetic.
[Calvin laughs]
But when asked people, you know, you know, “What impressed you?”
I said, well, you know,
“We we went to the Moon to explore the Moon, and what we discovered was the Earth.”
So one, I was lucky to take Earthrise,
with color film, with a long lens and make that statement.
And that's about my real
environmental claim to fame.
It's a pretty big claim to fame. Anders: Yeah. [laugh]
I do think often we have to leave home to appreciate it. Anders: Yeah.
And you had that opportunity and I think generations are grateful
for what you've done. Anders: Yeah, well ...
But seeing the earth from space ...
and I really wish I could take a flight in the space station
because we were just in Earth orbit, one and a half revolutions, so
but it is beautiful from space.
[Text on screen: In, 2018, two craters were named in honor of the Apollo 8 mission]
[Text on screen: 8 Homeward & Ander’s Earthrise] [The two Moon craters are located on the left side Earthrise photo]