When American astronaut Alfred Worden, who was the command module pilot for the Apollo 15 lunar mission in 1971, was asked what he was feeling at that time, he replied: "Now I know why I'm here. Not for a closer look at the moon, but to look back at our home, the Earth."

Those words have an interesting parallel to work being carried out today, as scientists look to the Moon to help gain an accurate understanding of the weather and climate on Earth.

Source: EUMETSAT

Image credit: EUMETSAT - The moon appears in an image captured by the SEVIRI instrument on a EUMETSAT Meteosat Second Generation satellite.

Related Missions:

• Copernicus
• Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) Spacecraft