First selfie in space: Buzz Aldrin snaps himself in 1966
On this day 51 years ago Buzz Aldrin made history by taking the first selfie in space. Before the term was even coined, Aldrin took advantage of the scenic background to snap himself. The image captures him floating in space, whilst Earth is seen in the background.
Aldrin went to moon as part of NASA’s Project Gemini. The flight was named Gemini 12, and was the 26th spaceflight of all time. The Gemini 12’s mission was to prove that astronauts could successfully work outside of a spacecraft. This project paved the way for the Apollo projects, and for future astronauts to be allowed to land on the moon.
Aldrin was the second man to land on the moon in 1969, just nineteen minutes after Neil Armstrong did.
Selfie Facts
- The first ever selfie was taken in 1839 by Robert Cornelius, who was an amateur chemist and photography enthusiast.
- The first known use of the word selfie was in 2002.
- Oxford Dictionary declared selfie ‘Word of the Year’ in 2013!
