SYS-01
Atmosphere
78% Nitrogen
A complex envelope of gases surrounding Earth that supports life and influences weather, climate and temperature.
Planetary File 001
EARTH
Our home world.
Our laboratory.
Our starting point.
Explore the planet from a scientific perspective — from its oceans and atmosphere to the satellites watching it from orbit.
SOL SYSTEM / 03
HABITABLE WORLD
VISUAL ARCHIVE
EARTH / FROM ORBIT
Planetary observation
DIAMETER
12,742 km
Equatorial planetary scale
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
15°C
Global surface average
SURFACE WATER
71%
Approximately covered by oceans
PLANET AGE
4.54 B
Approximately billion years
PLANETARY SYSTEMS
A planet made
of connected systems.
Earth is not a collection of isolated parts. Its atmosphere, oceans, land and living organisms interact continuously.
Planetary systems overview
SYS-02
Hydrosphere
1.386 B km³
Earth's water exists across oceans, rivers, lakes, glaciers, groundwater and the atmosphere.
SYS-03
Geosphere
Crust + Mantle
The solid parts of Earth create continents, mountains, ocean floors and the planet's dynamic interior.
SYS-04
Biosphere
Life
The global zone where living organisms interact with Earth's atmosphere, oceans and land.
VIEW 01
Earth in Space
VIEW 02
The Blue Planet
VIEW 03
Earth at Night
KNOWLEDGE DATABASE
Did you know?
Familiar from the ground. Surprisingly complex from a planetary perspective.
01
Earth is not a perfect sphere
Earth is slightly flattened at the poles and wider around the equator because of its rotation.
02
A day is not exactly 24 hours
Earth completes one rotation relative to distant stars in about 23 hours and 56 minutes.
03
Earth has a magnetic shield
Its magnetic field helps protect the planet from charged particles carried by the solar wind.
04
The Moon shapes our world
The Moon's gravitational influence plays an important role in Earth's ocean tides.
05
Earth is constantly moving
Our planet rotates, travels around the Sun and moves together with the Solar System through the galaxy.
06
Most of Earth is unexplored
Large portions of the deep ocean remain difficult to study directly, making Earth itself an exploration frontier.
PLANETARY INTERIOR
From surface to core
INTERNAL ARCHITECTURE
What's beneath
our feet?
Earth's surface is only the beginning. The planet has several major internal layers, each with different physical properties.
01
CRUST
0–70 KMThe thin outer layer containing continents, ocean floors and the environments where humans live.
02
MANTLE
70–2,900 KMA huge region of extremely hot rock whose slow movement contributes to geological activity.
03
OUTER CORE
2,900–5,150 KMA liquid metallic layer closely associated with Earth's magnetic field.
04
INNER CORE
5,150–6,371 KMThe dense central region of Earth under enormous pressure and extreme temperature.
ORBITAL OBSERVATION
Watching Earth
from above.
Satellites transform Earth into a continuously observed scientific environment. From orbit, spacecraft can study enormous areas that are difficult to observe from the ground.
Weather systems
Ocean conditions
Forest coverage
Ice and snow
OBSERVATION NETWORK
● OPERATIONAL
ORBITAL VIEW
Earth Observation
HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT
Our changing view of Earth
Space exploration did not only take humanity farther from Earth. It also changed how we understood our own planet.
1957
Sputnik 1
The first artificial satellite entered Earth orbit and began the satellite age.
1961
Humans reach orbit
Human spaceflight provided the first opportunity to experience Earth from above.
1972
The Blue Marble
Apollo 17 astronauts captured one of the most influential full-Earth photographs.
1998
ISS era begins
International partners began building a permanent research laboratory in low Earth orbit.
TODAY
Planetary observation
Modern spacecraft continuously observe Earth's atmosphere, oceans, land, ice and weather.
THE HOME WORLD
Before exploring the universe,
we learned to see our home.
Earth is the first destination in every space journey — the place every spacecraft leaves from and eventually returns to.
NEXT DESTINATIONS
Earth is only the beginning.
Continue through the SMCC exploration network and discover our nearest worlds and the universe beyond.