The true story behind NASA's iconic photo of lone astronaut floating in space that changed humanity's perspective
Published on Jan 28, 2026 at 2:14 PM (UTC+4)
by Daisy Edwards
Last updated on Jan 28, 2026 at 2:14 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
There’s nothing as cool as the true story behind NASA’s iconic photo of a lone astronaut floating in space, completely untethered, and it changed humanity’s perspective forever.
For decades, it has looked like the ultimate space photo: one astronaut, completely alone, hovering above a blue and white Earth.
The image is so clean that people still assume it must be a movie screenshot or was made by a graphic designer, but it’s not.
It’s a real NASA photo of astronaut Bruce McCandless II drifting freely in space during the Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS-41B in February 1984.
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The incredible story behind NASA’s iconic photo
On February 7, 1984, Bruce McCandless became the first astronaut to complete an untethered spacewalk, meaning no lifeline connected him to the shuttle.
He did it using the Manned Maneuvering Unit, basically a nitrogen jet backpack built to let astronauts steer themselves around in space.
The famous shot was taken by fellow astronaut Robert “Hoot” Gibson from inside Challenger’s crew cabin.
Gibson grabbed a camera and carefully focused each frame, even tilting the camera to keep Earth’s horizon looking level.
The photo ended up on the February 20, 1984, cover of Aviation Week and became one of NASA’s most-requested images.
There is also a small detail that makes the picture feel even more universal: McCandless’ visor is down, and the lighting makes it hard to tell who is inside the suit.
McCandless later said that anonymity helped people imagine themselves out there.
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How it changed humanity’s perspective of Earth and space forever
The reason the image hits so hard is the composition of the pic.
Earth looks bright and ridiculously delicate, which was confirmed by fellow astronaut Suni Williams, while everything around the Earth is pure black.
And apparently, behind the scenes, the moment of the lone astronaut was tense, and NASA notes that plenty of people were nervous about letting an astronaut fly a self-propelled backpack with no tether.
McCandless at the time used a line that became its own piece of space history: “It may have been one small step for Neil, but it’s a heck of a big leap for me.”
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As a Content Writer since January 2025, Daisy’s focus is on writing stories on topics spanning the entirety of the website. As well as writing about EVs, the history of cars, tech, and celebrities, Daisy is always the first to pitch the seed of an idea to the audience editor team, who collab with her to transform it into a fully informative and engaging story.
