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Jumping Off a Cliff... into Space


Staying with the space related theme from the previous article, today's post ventures a little bit past Earth's atmosphere to show you the first NASA spacewalk.

The amazing photograph above shows astronaut Ed White, pilot of NASA's Gemini 4 mission, on the first ever US spacewalk or more technically speaking, extra-vehicular activity. This wasn't the first occasion of an EVA as the honor of the first ever space walk goes to cosmonaut Alexey Leonov.

Even without going into details of how this photograph was made, this is an amazing image every time you look at it; a close crop of a free floating spaceman against the darkness of space on one side and the vibrant blue Earth on the other side.

Symbolically speaking, the tether attached to the astronaut looks more like an umbilical cord, and the whole scene is evocative of man's attempt to free itself of the binding ties to its mother Earth. With all of the advancements of man at that time and even with the purportedly coming Singularity a few decades away, the photo somehow shows that humans are still grounded in some way and will never be entirely free of their physical limitation. 

While the image is truly iconic, it is sad to note that astronaut Ed White died in the Apollo 1 cabin fire. The memory of his life and work will live on in this great picture.

This image is also taken from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Photostream. If you want a larger resolution file of this US spacewalk photo, you can find it here.
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Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 30, 2011 at 11:49 AM

    Just looking at this photo makes me want to go into space!!!!

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  2. Astronomy PirateApril 30, 2011 at 12:03 PM

    Another awesome space photo. I never thought about the umbilical cord things before, makes the metaphor between man and Earth even stronger.

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  3. 123April 30, 2011 at 12:19 PM

    It'd be amazing to take pictures in space

    I'm sure it'd be pretty hard to do in a spacesuit without a special camera though

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  4. Electric AddictApril 30, 2011 at 12:37 PM

    that must be the craziest feeling. totally out of this world!

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  5. Brandon SampleApril 30, 2011 at 12:57 PM

    thats so sad that he died, at least some nice pictures came from it. Im sure he has no regrets. what a life to live.

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  6. Joel C AnatoliApril 30, 2011 at 1:34 PM

    What a great photo. I cant imagine whats going through is head right now

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  7. AnonymousApril 30, 2011 at 2:13 PM

    Those are some big spaceballs. I was going to ask for a higher res... thanks for the link!

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  8. IntramanApril 30, 2011 at 3:13 PM

    that's kinda scary! so much void...

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  9. AnonymousApril 30, 2011 at 4:56 PM

    must be amazing to float around in the nothingness

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  10. AnonymousApril 30, 2011 at 5:46 PM

    this picture is very beautiful, the blue shade is stunning

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  11. Obi-wan MikenobiApril 30, 2011 at 6:41 PM

    I wonder how safe he feels wearing all that gear?

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  12. nooneApril 30, 2011 at 7:16 PM

    I wonder if one day humanity will ever reach the moon.

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  13. fabio_2007April 30, 2011 at 7:46 PM

    great photo

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  14. The Angry LurkerApril 30, 2011 at 8:19 PM

    Stunning photo, that takes some grit.

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  15. VersionDoubleApril 30, 2011 at 8:48 PM

    wow fantastic imagery.

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  16. KatoFinanceMay 1, 2011 at 12:05 AM

    Wow your blog is so cool the pictures are always fun to look at!

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  17. D4May 1, 2011 at 12:23 AM

    Wow, that's an amazing picture right there. And yes, I noticed the umbilical-cord look almost instantly. Love the depth of the picture.

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  18. UnknownMay 1, 2011 at 12:31 AM

    amazing shot

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  19. edMay 1, 2011 at 12:42 AM

    that pic is very spacey

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  20. BTN Hip HopMay 1, 2011 at 1:04 AM

    awesome photo. space, something we will never discover

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  21. notforeverybodyMay 1, 2011 at 1:56 AM

    awesome photo.. can't stop looking at it..

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  22. MaggieMay 1, 2011 at 2:30 AM

    that is a beautiful photo. it makes me feel so light <3<3

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  23. MalkavianMay 1, 2011 at 3:07 AM

    Great photo man thx for the background on the Astronaut also

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  24. MRanthropeMay 1, 2011 at 3:10 AM

    its so insane when you realize some of the things humanity has accomplished.

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  25. DaveMay 1, 2011 at 3:34 AM

    What a great picture. Great post.

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  26. elexerdelexMay 1, 2011 at 4:02 AM

    WOw that is one thing id really like to try!

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  27. GMay 1, 2011 at 5:30 AM

    awesome pic

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  28. i May 1, 2011 at 7:56 AM

    I do love NASA images. Check http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/index.html for "Great Images in NASA" - some fantastic pictures taken over decades of ambitious space research!

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  29. jaykaydeeMay 1, 2011 at 10:26 AM

    So amazing!

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  30. N4M3L3SSMay 1, 2011 at 12:09 PM

    pretty unreal man

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  31. The Awesome AlienMay 1, 2011 at 12:15 PM

    amazing picture

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  32. EdMay 1, 2011 at 1:20 PM

    Now that would be an awesome photo assignment to be sent on.

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  33. DocStoutMay 1, 2011 at 2:09 PM

    Another great photo with an interesting writeup. Sad to hear about the subject's tragic death.

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  34. The Game Store GuyMay 1, 2011 at 6:50 PM

    Ahhh...Space. While I encourage and push for space travel and exploration, I know that I will never be one of the people that actually goes UP THERE. Never been a big fan of the whole threat of decompression. :/

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  35. ZachMay 1, 2011 at 9:18 PM

    Breathtaking shot

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  36. MoobeatMay 1, 2011 at 9:46 PM

    very cool

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  37. InhiaMay 1, 2011 at 11:39 PM

    ill just take that...

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  38. MoMay 2, 2011 at 12:14 AM

    great shot!

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  39. pixelMay 2, 2011 at 12:22 AM

    wonder what sorts of cameras they used for these older shots

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  40. UnknownMay 2, 2011 at 3:00 AM

    Love your writing and beautiful picture! :)

    Heel in Mint

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  41. RedHeadRobMay 2, 2011 at 3:57 AM

    Amazing! Its a breath taking image when you really take the scope of everything about it in.

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  42. DudemeisterMay 2, 2011 at 4:37 AM

    That picture is haunting me. I can't stop looking at it.

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  43. ShutterbugMay 2, 2011 at 7:28 AM

    Awesome photo!

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  44. Team PandaMay 2, 2011 at 7:52 AM

    I'm surprised by quality of the photo, Im not a history buff, but i didnt know they had cameras that good back then.

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  45. JbloggerMay 2, 2011 at 8:35 AM

    great pic

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  46. BartMay 2, 2011 at 8:37 AM

    that is a great pic. i love astronaut pics

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  47. Jay ReidMay 2, 2011 at 9:48 AM

    Good stuff!

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  48. Blog HuntMay 2, 2011 at 11:10 AM

    I want to go to space now!

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  49. JFosterMay 2, 2011 at 12:39 PM

    Great photo. Love the space theme. Keep em coming...

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  50. LhosreiffMay 2, 2011 at 2:28 PM

    Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace!

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  51. JaccstevMay 2, 2011 at 8:19 PM

    Wow.. That picture is a good stuff and I'm completely agree that it's truly iconic!

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  52. duffboiMay 2, 2011 at 8:32 PM

    nice picture. that's gotta take guts. man.

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  53. DootzkieMay 2, 2011 at 9:16 PM

    Makes you wonder if we will ever reach any other planet or at least the Moon ;)

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  54. Solsby KidMay 2, 2011 at 10:19 PM

    amazing pic!

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  55. T. BanacekMay 2, 2011 at 10:36 PM

    There must be something wrong with me because I've never been interested in space stuff.

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  56. Kicking RocksMay 2, 2011 at 11:22 PM

    Thats just awesome! I want to go to space!

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  57. TrolskeMay 2, 2011 at 11:39 PM

    Wow, looks like Mr. White having an epic robot hand Oo

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  58. **Hype.Planet**May 2, 2011 at 11:49 PM

    Love the picture, very nice!

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  59. StyronMay 3, 2011 at 3:02 AM

    Those are great, but you should go more in the direction of robert capa ;) Would be awesome ;)

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  60. OatmealStoutMay 3, 2011 at 3:18 AM

    That's what I thought as well, looks like an umbilical chord.

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  61. Ante BabajaMay 3, 2011 at 6:07 AM

    i want to be an astronaut :D awesome photo

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  62. AnonymousMay 3, 2011 at 9:09 AM

    me too. I want to go into Space. great pic.

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  63. MoobeatMay 3, 2011 at 12:20 PM

    cool

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  64. HiFiMay 4, 2011 at 6:45 PM

    Wicked photo

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  65. Auto Title LoansMay 6, 2011 at 7:35 AM

    This is an amazing photo and then so sad when you read the end of this post. At least he will forever be immortalized with such a shot!
    Ava

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