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Bruce Murray Space Image Library

Zond 5 image of Earth

Zond 5 image of Earth
Zond 5 image of Earth On September 18, 1968, Zond-5 became the first spacecraft to circle the Moon and return to land on Earth. It photographed Earth from a distance of 90,000 kilometers, but a subsequent malfunction of the orientation system prevented it from photographing the Moon. Moscow State University of Geodesy and Cartography (MIIGAiK); caption by Don Mitchell