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21 Greatest-Ever Space Photos

11. Pointing the Way Home

11. Pointing the Way Home

Astronaut Harrison Hagan Schmitt stands next to an American flag seemingly pointing to Earth in the far distance—a beacon of life in the void—during Apollo 17's December, 1972 mission to the moon. The clean, white perfection of Schmitt's space suit; the rumpled flag; the black of space; the fragile Earth—if one wanted to compose a tableau that said "space exploration," it might look a lot like this.

In this photo: Harrison Schmitt

Photo: Space Frontiers/Getty Images

Dec 01, 1972
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