HAMDAN BIN MOHAMMED HAMAD AL MANSOURI PROFESSOR MELIKECHI A NEW EARTH

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The 10 most iconic images
from human space
endeavour
Man has been travelling to and from space for 56 years now,
and in that time, we have seen images that portray triumph,
potential, tragedy, challenges, achievements and the sheer
scale of whatever is out there. Let’s celebrate human
endeavour with a look at 10 of the most iconic images from
the space story so far.
Dubai from above
The instantly recognisable Dubai shoreline, captured from DubaiSat-2, currently in orbit
above the Earth. The detail within this image is not only a demonstration of the capability of
the Emirati-built satellite, but serves as a reminder of the transformation witnessed in Dubai
itself, and some of the most extraordinary construction projects ever undertaken by man. You
can see the man-made perfection of the Palm Jumeirah as its stretches out into the sea.
Silhouette in space
This beautiful image exhibits a unique
view of the Space Shuttle Endeavour,
apparently in limbo between the
Earth’s atmosphere and space, and
with a beautiful sunset occurring
on the horizon. So many different
elements had to come together at this
precise moment to provide a picture
that encapsulates much of what man
has thus far achieved in space.
The Earth
This wasn’t the first picture of the Earth taken by a human from outer space, but it was the
first to really catch the essence of how isolated we are. It seems strange now to think that just
55 years ago, humans really had no idea what the world looked like from above. Of course,
we eventually worked out we lived on a round planet, not a flat one, but the stunning visual
feast our beautiful planet serves up could never have been realised until 1965, although this
image was taken aboard Apollo 17 in 1972, and was the first to really capture the imagination
of the entire human race.
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