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20 Years Ago: First Image of Earth from Mars and Other Postcards of Home


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On March 8, 2004, the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took the first image of Earth from the surface of another planet. The Earth appearing as nothing more than a bright star provided a new perspective on our home planet, a perspective reshaped over the past eight decades as cameras aboard rockets and spacecraft traveled farther and farther away. From sounding rockets in the 1940s and Earth orbiting satellites in the early 1960s to spacecraft and people traveling to the Moon in the late 1960s and early 1970s and since then to spacecraft exploring all reaches of our solar system, the images of Earth they sent back expanded our horizons while showing an ever-smaller pale blue dot in the vastness of space.

The Mars Exploration Rover Spirit photographed Earth before sunrise in 2004 The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover photographed the Earth-Moon system in 2014
Left: The Mars Exploration Rover Spirit photographed Earth before sunrise in 2004. Right: The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover photographed the Earth-Moon system in 2014.

Shortly after landing in Mars’ Gusev Crater on Jan. 4, 2004, Spirit began sending to Earth remarkable photos of its surroundings. On March 8, it turned its camera skyward in an attempt to photograph the Martian moon Deimos partially eclipsing the Sun as it transited across its disc. Shortly before sunrise, Spirit’s camera managed to capture Earth as a bright star, appearing much as Venus does to terrestrial observers. This marked the first photograph of Earth from another planetary surface. Nearly a decade passed before another rover, the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity, took another photograph of Earth from its location in Mars’ Gale Crater. The image taken on Jan. 31, 2014, from 99 million miles away, also captured the Moon. These images, and others taken of Earth from ever-more distant vantage points over the past eight decades, provided a new perspective of our home planet’s place in our solar system. Enjoy the following postcards of Earth over the decades.

The first image of Earth taken from space in 1946 by a suborbital rocket, from an altitude of 65 miles The first photograph of Earth taken from orbit, by the Explorer 6 satellite The first television image of Earth, transmitted by the TIROS-1 weather satellite in 1960
Left: The first image of Earth taken from space in 1946 by a suborbital rocket, from an altitude of 65 miles. Image credit: courtesy White Sands Missile Range/Applied Physics Laboratory. Middle: The first photograph of Earth taken from orbit, by the Explorer 6 satellite. Right: The first television image of Earth, transmitted by the TIROS-1 weather satellite in 1960.

On Oct. 24, 1946, more than 10 years before the launch of the first artificial satellite Sputnik, scientists at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico placed a camera on top of a captured German V-2 ballistic missile. As the rocket flew to an altitude of about 65 miles – just above the generally recognized border of outer space – the 35-mm motion picture camera snapped a frame every one and a half seconds. Minutes later, the missile came crashing back down and slammed into the ground at more than 340 miles per hour, but the film survived and gave us our first glimpse of Earth from space. On Aug. 14, 1959, the Explorer 6 satellite took the first photograph of Earth from orbit about 17,000 miles high, but the image lacked detail. On April 1, 1960, from an orbital altitude of about 450 miles, the TIROS-1 weather satellite returned the first of its 23,000 television images of the Earth, most of them of sufficient quality for the satellite’s main purpose, weather forecasting.

The first full-disk photograph of Earth, taken by the Soviet Molniya 1-3 communications satellite in 1966 The first image of Earth taken from geostationary orbit, by the Advanced Technology Satellite-1 (ATS-1) satellite in 1966 The first color image of the full Earth from the DODGE (Department of Defense Gravity Experiment) satellite in 1967
Left: The first full-disk photograph of Earth, taken by the Soviet Molniya 1-3 communications satellite in 1966. Middle: The first image of Earth taken from geostationary orbit, by the Advanced Technology Satellite-1 (ATS-1) satellite in 1966. Right: The first color image of the full Earth from the DODGE (Department of Defense Gravity Experiment) satellite in 1967.

The Soviet Molniya 1-3 communications satellite took the first photograph showing the Earth as a full disk on May 30, 1966, although the image quality was somewhat poor. On Dec. 11, 1966, the ATS-1 advanced technology satellite beamed back the first photograph of Earth from geostationary orbit 22,300 miles above Ecuador. The Department of Defense Gravity Experiment (DODGE) satellite returned the first color image of the full Earth in August 1967.

The original photo, top, of Earth taken from lunar orbit by the Lunar Orbiter 1 spacecraft in 1966, and a 2008 digitized version by the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project (LOIRP) The first color image of Earth taken from the surface of the Moon by Surveyor 3 in 1967
Left: The original photo, top, of Earth taken from lunar orbit by the Lunar Orbiter 1 spacecraft in 1966, and a 2008 digitized version by the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project (LOIRP). Image credit: courtesy LOIRP.  Right: The first color image of Earth taken from the surface of the Moon by Surveyor 3 in 1967.

The primary purpose of early robotic spacecraft to the Moon was to prepare for the crewed Apollo missions that followed, including extensive photography of the lunar terrain from orbit and from the surface. The first of five Lunar Orbiter spacecraft designed to map the Moon’s surface from orbit took the first photograph of Earth from lunar distances on Aug. 23, 1966. A digital reconstruction of the original frame in 2008 as part of the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project removed the scan lines and other imperfections. The Surveyor 3 robotic lander, later visited by the Apollo 12 astronauts, took the first photograph of Earth from the lunar surface on April 30, 1967.

The famous Earthrise photograph taken during the Apollo 8 crew’s first orbit around the Moon in 1968 The first photograph of Earth taken by an astronaut standing on the lunar surface, taken during the Apollo 11 Moon landing in 1969 The famous Blue Marble image taken by Apollo 17 astronauts on their way to the Moon in 1972 Earth and Moon photographed during the Artemis I uncrewed mission in 2022
Left: The famous Earthrise photograph taken during the Apollo 8 crew’s first orbit around the Moon in 1968. Middle left: The first photograph of Earth taken by an astronaut standing on the lunar surface, taken during the Apollo 11 Moon landing in 1969. Middle right: The famous Blue Marble image taken by Apollo 17 astronauts on their way to the Moon in 1972. Right: Earth and Moon photographed during the Artemis I uncrewed mission in 2022.

The Apollo missions of the late 1960s and early 1970s returned thousands of stunning and memorable images of humanity’s first exploration of another world. Among them are photographs of the Earth taken by the astronauts that show how small and fragile our planet can appear against the blackness and vastness of space. Arguably, the most famous is the Earthrise photos taken during Apollo 8, the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon in December 1968. The image of the smooth blue ball of Earth appearing suspended over the battered gray lunar terrain provided inspiration for the ecology movement of the time. In July 1969, the first human lunar landing mission, Apollo 11, returned many iconic photographs of Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin on the surface, and also included the first image of the Earth taken by an astronaut on the Moon. In December 1972, astronauts on the final Apollo lunar landing mission, Apollo 17, took the famous Blue Marble image of the Earth from 72,000 miles away on their way to the Moon. More recently, in November 2012, the uncrewed Artemis I mission imaged the Moon and Earth together, from a distance of 268,563 miles from Earth.

A composite of two separate images of the Earth and Moon, taken by Mariner 10 in 1973 as it headed toward encounters with Venus and Mercury The first image of the Earth-Moon system in a single photographic frame taken by Voyager 1 in 1977 as it departed on its journey to explore Jupiter, Saturn, and beyond The first image of Earth taken by a planetary spacecraft, Galileo, as it made a return encounter with its home planet for a gravity assist in 1990
Left: A composite of two separate images of the Earth and Moon, taken by Mariner 10 in 1973 as it headed toward encounters with Venus and Mercury. Middle: The first image of the Earth-Moon system in a single photographic frame taken by Voyager 1 in 1977 as it departed on its journey to explore Jupiter, Saturn, and beyond. Right: The first image of Earth taken by a planetary spacecraft, Galileo, as it made a return encounter with its home planet for a gravity assist in 1990. 

As planetary spacecraft carried increasingly sophisticated instruments in the 1970s, some turned their cameras toward the Earth as they departed on their long voyages of exploration. In November 1973, a few days after Mariner 10 launched on its mission to explore Venus and Mercury, it snapped separate photographs of the Earth and the Moon, that technicians combined into a composite photo. On Sept. 18, 1977, at a distance of 7.25 million miles, the Jupiter-bound Voyager 1 snapped the first photograph of the Earth-Moon system in a single frame, providing an impression of the view from a spacecraft approaching our home planet. The Galileo spacecraft did exactly that – on Dec. 8, 1990, more than two years after its launch, it passed within 600 miles of Earth, using the planet for a gravity assist to reach Jupiter. During the fly-by, Galileo used its sophisticated instruments and cameras to study Earth as an unexplored planet and detected chemical signatures in atmospheric trace elements associated with life-form activity. 

Voyager 1’s family portrait of six planets, when the spacecraft was 3.7 billion miles from Earth in 1990
Voyager 1’s family portrait of six planets, when the spacecraft was 3.7 billion miles from Earth in 1990.

Pale Blue Dot Revisited, NASA’s 2020 remastered version of the Voyager 1 image of Earth
Pale Blue Dot Revisited, NASA’s 2020 remastered version of the Voyager 1 image of Earth.

On Feb. 14, 1990, more than 12 years after it began its journey from Earth and shortly before controller permanently turned off its cameras to conserve power, Voyager 1 spun around and pointed them back into the solar system. In a mosaic of 60 images, it captured a “family portrait” of six of the solar system’s planets, including a pale blue dot called Earth more than 3.7 billion miles away. In February 2020, to commemorate the photograph’s 30th anniversary, NASA released a remastered version of the image of Earth as Pale Blue Dot Revisited.

MESSENGER’s family portrait of the planets, taken from approximately the orbit of Mercury in 2010
MESSENGER’s family portrait of the planets, taken from approximately the orbit of Mercury in 2010.

Twenty years later, and from a very different part of the solar system, came another family portrait of the planets. From near the orbit of Mercury, the MESSENGER spacecraft took 34 images on Nov. 3 and 16, 2010, that engineers stitched together. The composite shows six planets, Venus, Earth, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, and Saturn, and even several planetary satellites including the Moon and Jupiter’s four Galilean moons Callisto, Ganymede, Europa, and Io.

Earth and Moon photographed by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft in orbit around Mars in 2003 Earth and Moon photographed by the European Space Agency’s Mars Express spacecraft in orbit around Mars in 2003 Earth and Moon photographed by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in orbit around Mars in 2007
Left: Earth and Moon photographed by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft in orbit around Mars in 2003. Middle: Earth and Moon photographed by the European Space Agency’s Mars Express spacecraft in orbit around Mars in 2003. Right: Earth and Moon photographed by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in orbit around Mars in 2007.

Even before Spirit returned the first photo of Earth from the surface of Mars, spacecraft in orbit around the Red Planet took amazing photos of the Earth-Moon system with their telescopic high-resolution cameras. Mars Global Surveyor took the first photograph of the Earth-Moon system from Mars orbit in May 2003, the two planets 86 million miles apart. Given the Moon’s position in its orbit around Earth, the two bodies appeared close together. Two months later, in July 2003, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mars Express spacecraft photographed them appearing much further apart, given the Moon’s orbital position. In October 2007, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter used its HiRISE camera to take a more detailed shot of the Earth-Moon system. Because Earth orbits closer to the Sun than Mars, it goes through phases, much as Mercury and Venus do as viewed from Earth.

The Earth-Moon system as seen from the Cassini spacecraft in orbit around Saturn in 2013
The Earth-Moon system as seen from the Cassini spacecraft in orbit around Saturn in 2013.

On July 19, 2013, the Cassini spacecraft in orbit around Saturn took a series of images from a distance of about 750,000 miles as the planet eclipsed the Sun. In the event dubbed The Day the Earth Smiled, people on Earth received notification in advance that Cassini would be taking their picture from 900 million miles away, and were encouraged to smile at its camera. In addition to the Earth and Moon, Cassini captured Venus, Mars, and seven of Saturn’s satellites in the photograph.

The MESSENGER spacecraft in orbit around Mercury took this photograph of Earth and Moon in 2013 The Parker Solar Probe photographed Earth through the solar corona from well inside the orbit of Mercury in 2023
Left: The MESSENGER spacecraft in orbit around Mercury took this photograph of Earth and Moon in 2013. Right: The Parker Solar Probe photographed Earth through the solar corona from well inside the orbit of Mercury in 2023.

On the same day that Cassini imaged Earth and other planets from Saturn, the MESSENGER spacecraft in orbit around Mercury, during a search for possible moons orbiting the small planet, took a photograph of the Earth-Moon system from 61 million miles away. The Parker Solar Probe, during its 16th close pass of the Sun in June 2023, took a series of photographs through the Sun’s corona, imaging several planets including Earth in the process. Engineers stitched the images together to create an amazing video of the solar corona and a coronal mass ejection. The view is from well inside Mercury’s orbit.

The European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter took this mini-family portrait in November 2020
The European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter took this mini-family portrait in November 2020.

The ESA Solar Orbiter spacecraft’s primary objectives focus on studying the Sun from close distances. These orbits enable it to photograph several planets at once. On Nov. 18, 2020, Solar Orbiter imaged Venus, Earth, and Mars in one frame.

We hope you enjoyed this review of how photographs of Earth over the past 80 years have changed our perspectives of our home planet, and also of our own place in the universe. Future human space explorers, whatever their destinations, will always look back and try to find their home planet in whatever sky it may shine, and hopefully share their experiences with us through photographs we can only dream about today.

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    • By NASA
      Successfully deployed from the space shuttle Challenger during the February 1984 STS-41B mission, the Westar 6 and Palapa B2 communications satellites ended up in incorrect orbits due to failures of their upper stage rockets. During STS-51A in November 1984, Discovery’s second trip into space, the crew of Commander Frederick H. “Rick” Hauck, Pilot David M. Walker, and Mission Specialists Joseph P. Allen, Anna L. Fisher, and Dale A. Gardner worked as a team to not only deploy two new satellites but also to retrieve the two wayward but otherwise healthy satellites for return to Earth. Hauck and Walker piloted Discovery to rendezvous with each satellite in turn, Allen and Gardner retrieved them during two spacewalks, and Fisher grappled and placed them in the payload bay for return to Earth. After refurbishment, both satellites returned to space.

      Left: The STS-51A crew of Dale A. Gardner, left, David M. Walker, Anna L. Fisher, Frederick “Rick” H. Hauck, and Joseph P. Allen. Right: The STS-51A crew patch.
      NASA originally designated Hauck, Walker, Allen, Fisher, and Gardner as a crew in November 1983 and assigned them to STS-41H, a mission aboard Challenger planned for late September 1984 to either deploy the second Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) or fly a classified payload for the Department of Defense. Due to ongoing problems with the Inertial Upper Stage that failed to put the first TDRS satellite in its correct orbit during STS-6, NASA canceled STS-41H and shifted Hauck’s crew to STS-51A. In February 1984, an agreement between NASA and the Canadian government added an as-yet unnamed Canadian payload specialist to the STS-51A crew. Managers later named the Canadian as Marc Garneau and reassigned him to STS-41G.
      A shuffling of payloads following the STS-41D launch abort resulted in STS-51A now deploying the Anik D2 satellite for Canada and Leasat 1 (also known as Syncom IV-1) for the U.S. Navy. By early August, the launch date had slipped to Nov. 2, with NASA considering the possibility of retrieving the two wayward satellites from STS-41B, officially adding that task on Aug. 13. NASA selected Allen in 1967 as one of 11 scientist-astronauts, while the rest of the crew hail from the Class of 1978. Hauck, on his second mission after serving as pilot on STS-7, has the distinction as the first from his class to command a shuttle mission. Allen and Gardner had each flown one previous mission, STS-5 and STS-8, respectively, while for Walker and Fisher STS-51A represented their first flight. Fisher has the distinction as the first mother in space. 

      Left: After its arrival from the Orbiter Processing Facility, workers in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) prepare to lift Discovery for mating with an External Tank (ET) and Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs). Middle: Workers lift Discovery to stack it with the ET and SRBs. Right: The completed stack prepares to leave the VAB for the rollout to Launch Pad 39A.
      Discovery arrived back at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on Sept. 10, returning from Edwards Air Force Base in California following the STS-41D mission. Workers towed it to the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) the next day to begin the process of refurbishing it for STS-51A. On Oct. 18, they rolled it over to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), for stacking with an External Tank and twin Solid Rocket Boosters.

      At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery rolls out to Launch Pad 39A, with the Saturn V rocket on display in the foreground.
      The completed stack rolled out to Launch Pad 39A on Oct. 23. Two days later, the five-member STS-51A crew participated in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, essentially a dress rehearsal for the actual countdown to launch. The crew returned to KSC on Nov. 5, the day the countdown began for a planned Nov. 7 launch. High upper-level winds that day forced a one-day delay.

      Left: STS-51A astronaut Dale A. Gardner trains for the capture of a satellite using the Apogee Kick Motor Capture Device. Middle: Astronaut Anna L. Fisher trains to use the Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System, or robotic arm. Right: As part of the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, the STS-51A astronauts practice rapid evacuation from the launch pad.
      Following deployment from Challenger during STS-41B, the upper stages of both the Westar 6 and Palapa B2 satellites malfunctioned, leaving them in non-useable 160-by-600-mile-high orbits instead of the intended 22,300-mile-high geostationary orbits required for their normal operations. While both satellites remained healthy, their own thrusters could not boost them to the proper orbits. NASA devised a plan to have astronauts retrieve the satellites during spacewalks using the jetpack known as the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), after which the shuttle’s Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System (RMS) or robot arm would grapple them and place them into the cargo bay for return to Earth. Astronauts had demonstrated the capability of the MMU during the STS-41C Solar Max satellite repair mission in April 1984 and NASA felt confident of its ability to capture and return Westar and Palapa. 
      In the weeks prior to STS-51A, ground controllers lowered the orbits of both satellites and reduced their spin rates from 50 to 1 rpm to enable capture by the shuttle astronauts. Engineers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston developed the Apogee Kick Motor Capture Device (ACD), otherwise known as the stinger due to its appearance, to allow an astronaut to capture the satellites while flying the MMU. Once relocated over the payload bay, a second astronaut would remove the satellite’s omnidirectional antenna with pruning shears and install an Antenna Bridge Structure (ABS) with a grapple fixture over the satellite’s main antenna dish. Allen would fly the MMU to capture Palapa, then he would switch roles with Gardner who would capture Westar. Fisher would use the RMS to grapple the satellites by this second fixture and lower them into specially built cradles to secure them into the payload bay.

      Left: The STS-51A crew leaves crew quarters on their way to Launch Pad 39A. Middle: Liftoff of Discovery on the STS-51A mission. Right: View inside Discovery’s payload bay shortly after orbital insertion – the top of Anik D2 is visible, with Leasat 1 hidden behind it.
      Space shuttle Discovery roared off KSC’s Launch Pad 39A on Nov. 8, 1984, to begin the STS-51A mission and mark the orbiter’s first return to space. For Gardner, launch day coincided with his 36th birthday. The launch took place just 26 days after the landing of the previous mission, STS-41G, a then record-breaking turnaround time between shuttle flights. Eight and a half minutes after liftoff, Discovery and its five-member crew reached space and shortly thereafter settled into a 182-by-172-mile-high initial orbit. As their first order of business, the crew checked out the RMS to ensure its functionality for the satellite captures later in the mission. They also performed the first rendezvous burn to begin the approach to the Palapa satellite. The crew then settled down for its first night’s sleep in orbit.

      Left: Nighttime deploy of the Anik D2 satellite. Middle: Deploy of the Leasat 1 satellite. Right: Leasat 1 as it departs from Discovery.
      The primary activity of the second flight day involved Allen deploying the 2,727-pound Anik D2 satellite via a spring ejection mechanism, occurring on time and with no issues. The crew also circularized the shuttle’s orbit at 186 miles. The next day, Gardner deployed the 17,000-pound Leasat 1 using the Frisbee style mechanism used to deploy the first Leasat during STS-41D two months earlier. With the satellite deployments complete, the crew began to focus on the rendezvous maneuvers to bring them close to the Palapa B2 satellite while Allen and Gardner verified the functionality of their spacesuits. On flight day 4, the astronauts reduced the pressure inside the shuttle from 14.7 pounds per square inch (psi) to 10.2 psi in order to prevent the spacewalking astronauts from developing the bends inside the spacesuits that operated at 4.3 psi.

      Left: During the first spacewalk, Jospeh P. Allen captures the Palapa B2 satellite. Middle: Anna L. Fisher grasps Allen and Palapa with the Remote Manipulator System, or robotic arm. Right: Allen, left, and Dale A. Gardner prepare to place Palapa in its cradle in the payload bay.
      On the fifth mission day, after Hauck and Walker piloted Discovery to within 35 feet of Palapa, Allen and Gardner exited the airlock to begin the spacewalk portion of the satellite capture. Allen donned the MMU mounted on the side wall of the cargo bay, attached the stinger to its arms, and flew out to Palapa. Once there, he inserted the stinger into the satellite’s Apogee Kick Motor bell and using the MMU’s attitude control system stopped Palapa’s spin.
      Fisher then steered the RMS to capture a grapple fixture mounted on the stinger between Allen and the satellite. She then maneuvered them over the payload bay where Gardner waited to remove its omnidirectional antenna and install the bridge structure. However, Gardner could not attach the ABS to the satellite due to an unexpected clearance issue on the satellite. Using a backup plan, Allen undocked from the stinger, leaving it attached to the satellite as well as the RMS, and stowed the MMU in the payload bay. With Allen now holding the satellite by its antenna, Gardner attached an adaptor to the bottom end of the satellite to secure it in its cradle in the payload bay. This plan worked and Allen and Gardner completed the spacewalk in exactly six hours.

      Left: Dale A. Gardner flies the Manned Maneuvering Unit to capture Westar 6 during the second spacewalk. Middle: Anna L. Fisher operates the Remote Manipulator System from Discovery’s aft flight deck. Right: Gardner, left, and Joseph P. Allen maneuver Westar prior to placing it in its cradle in the payload bay.
      Between the two spacewalk days, the crew serviced the spacesuits, conducted routine maintenance on the shuttle, and prepared for the second rendezvous, this time to retrieve Westar. Allen and Gardner switched roles for the second spacewalk on flight day seven, with Gardner flying the MMU to capture Westar. The astronauts repeated the procedure from the first spacewalk, except for not removing the omni antenna so they could use it as a handhold. With Westar secured in the payload bay, Gardner and Allen completed the second spacewalk in 5 hours and 42 minutes.

      Left: Dale A. Gardner, left, and Joseph P. Allen pose at the end of the Remote Manipulator System controlled by Anna L. Fisher, holding a For Sale sign above the two retrieved satellites secured in Discovery’s payload bay. Middle: Inflight photo of the STS-51A crew after the successful satellite retrievals. Right: View inside Discovery’s payload bay shortly before the deorbit burn, with Westar 6 in the foreground and Palapa B2 behind it.
      During their final full day in space, Discovery’s crew repressurized the shuttle’s cabin to 14.7 psi and tidied the cabin in preparation for reentry. On Nov. 16, the astronauts closed the payload bay doors and fired the Orbital Maneuvering System engines to begin the descent back to Earth. Hauck guided Discovery to a smooth landing at KSC, completing a flight of 7 days, 23 hours, and 45 minutes. The crew had traveled nearly 3.3 million miles and completed 127 orbits around the Earth. The next day, workers towed Discovery to the OPF to begin preparing it for its next flight, STS-51C in January 1985.

      Left: Discovery streaks over Houston on its way to land at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Middle: Discovery moments before touchdown at KSC. Right: NASA officials greet the STS-51A astronauts as they exit Discovery.
      As a postscript, STS-51A marked the last flight to use the MMUs, and the last untethered spacewalks until 1994 when STS-64 astronauts tested the Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER). All subsequent spacewalks on the space shuttle and the International Space Station used safety tethers, with the SAFER as a backup in case a crew member disconnects from the vehicle.

      Left: In the Orbiter Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers inspect the Westar 6, left, and Palapa B2 satellites in Discovery’s payload bay. Right: The STS-51A crew, with Lloyd’s of London representative Stephen Merritt, sitting at right, during their visit to London.
      On Dec. 7, 1984, in a ceremony at the White House, President Ronald W. Reagan presented the STS-51A crew with the Lloyd’s of London – the company had insured the two satellites they returned to Earth – Silver Medal for Meritorious Salvage Operations. Fisher has the distinction as only the second woman to receive that award. In February 1985, Lloyd’s flew the crew to London on the Concorde for a week of activities, including addressing the Lloyd’s underwriters and tea with Prince Charles at Kensington Palace.
      Hong Kong-based AsiaSat purchased the Westar 6 satellite, refurbished it, and relaunched it as AsiaSat 1 on April 7, 1990, on a Chinese CZ-3 rocket. Title to the Palapa B2 satellite returned to Indonesia after its relaunch as Palapa B2R on April 13, 1990, aboard a Delta rocket.
      Read recollections of the STS-51A mission by Hauck, Allen, and Fisher in their oral histories with the JSC History Office. Enjoy the crew’s narration of a video about the STS-51A mission.
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