Voyager 1 was the first spacecraft to photograph Earth and the Moon together from deep space.
On 18 September 1977, Voyager 1 used its cameras to capture a combined image of Earth and the Moon from about 11.66 million kilometres away. The picture was made while the spacecraft was traveling outward and is an early example of viewing our planet and its natural satellite as a single system.
Voyager 1 launched on 5 September 1977 and later used a gravity assist at Jupiter to gain speed and redirect its trajectory toward Saturn. Its imaging system was designed primarily for planetary science, but the spacecraft also produced iconic views of Earth, including the Pale Blue Dot image in 1990.
This achievement is different from the first image of Earth from space, which was made by a V-2 rocket in 1946. Voyager 1’s distinction concerns seeing Earth and the Moon together from much farther away.