Link: Images of Earth from Planetary Spacecraft - Explore the Cosmos | The Planetary Society.
As spacecraft began to launch on journeys to more distant planets, never to return, their mission controllers often commanded them to take departing views of Earth and the Moon. Mariner 10 and Voyager 1 both took such snapshots, as did Mars Odyssey and Venus Express. Other spacecraft traveling to eventual orbit around other planets required one or more gravity-assist flybys of Earth; a year or more after their launches, Galileo, Rosetta, and MESSENGER returned to the neighborhood, shooting photos and even movies as they flew by. Some planetary travelers – like Voyager 1, Mars Global Surveyor, Cassini, and even the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit – were even able to turn toward Earth and capture distant glimpses of their home planets from their eventual destinations.
