https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/should-we-always-trust-what-we-see-in-satellite-images/ > The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. > In 1972, the crew of Apollo 17 captured what has become one of the most iconic images of the Earth: the Blue Marble. Biochemist Gregory Petsko described the image as “perfectly representing the human condition of living on an island in the universe.” Many researchers now credit the image as marking the beginning of environmental activism in the U.S.