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SCRIPT
INTRO LINK
Space exploration arose out of man's insatiable curiosity about our solar system and the universe beyond. But the space programme offered another possibility - the chance to examine the earth from a completely new vantage point. Fascinated by space, scientists rarely turned their attention to the earth, so the early use of satellites was focused mainly on communications and monitoring the weather.
WHAT THE EYE CAN SEE
At Christmas 1968 the crew on Apollo 8 took a picture of the earth as they returned from a trip around the moon. The first ever image of our blue planet alone in the vastness of space, it demonstrated the value of earth observation. Since Apollo, no manned spacecraft has got far away enough to view the entire earth again, instead we have come to rely on satellites build a global perspective of our planet and the complex ecosystem which sustains it.
Apollo 8 view of the Earth, followed by second view on horizon
In the 33 years since Apollo 8, successive gen