First images of Earth from space

The first images of Earth from space were taken by a satellite called the Explorer 6. It was launched by the United States in August 1959. It was the first satellite to take pictures of the Earth, which it did with a special camera that was pointed towards the Earth. The picture was black and white and it showed the cloud cover in different parts of the Earth. This was the first time that humans were able to see what the Earth looks like from space.