Awe-inspiring photos of Earth remind us just what's at stake

Maria Gallucci
Updated

Millions of people came out this Earth Day to clean up and care for the planet. But space agencies and companies took a different approach, choosing to celebrate our Earth from up above.

SpaceX on Saturday shared a breathtaking image captured during the recent launch of its SES-10 communications satellite. 

Elon Musk's private spaceflight company made history in late March when it reused a previously flown Falcon 9 booster to launch the satellite over Central and South America.

NASA also posted plenty of Earth-centric images taken during previous missions. 

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Its "Postcards from Home" collection, first assembled for 2015's Earth Day, includes snapshots from the unmanned Galileo spacecraft, the moon-mapping Clementine mission, and even the Apollo 8 mission in 1968. That mission's iconic "Earthrise" images show our planet peeking out from beyond the Moon's surface as the first crewed spacecraft circumnavigated the Moon.

For us here at NASA, Earth Day is every day! With a fleet of spacecraft orbiting our home planet collecting data on everything from the air we breathe to natural disasters that impact our lives, Earth is always in focus. Join us as we celebrate our home with beautiful views from our unique vantage point of space. Image Credit: NASA #nasa #earth #earthday #space #science

A post shared by NASA (@nasa) on Apr 22, 2017 at 8:46am PDT

Astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS), European Space Agency, and Canadian Space Agency shared their own awe-inspiring views of the giant orb we call home.

One of the best ways to view our planet on #EarthDay is astronaut photography from the space station crew! These recent gems are courtesy of @thom_astro and @astro_kimbrough. Learn how you can #AdoptThePlanet and get your own little slice to watch over: go.nasa.gov/adopt #space #earth #nasa #views #astronaut #photography #spacestation #earthday2017

A post shared by International Space Station (@iss) on Apr 22, 2017 at 2:09pm PDT

Picking up trash, planting trees, and marching to defend scientific research all benefit our planet in real, tangible ways.

But images like these help us appreciate just what's at stake, even from millions of miles away.

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