 During this first broadcast , the crew gave a tour of the spacecraft and attempted to show how the Earth appeared from space . However , difficulties aiming the narrow @-@ angle lens without the aid of a monitor to show what it was looking at made showing the Earth impossible . Additionally , the Earth image became saturated by any bright source without proper filters . In the end , all the crew could show the people watching back on Earth was a bright blob . After broadcasting for 17 minutes , the rotation of the spacecraft took the high @-@ gain antenna out of view of the receiving stations on Earth and they ended the transmission with Lovell wishing his mother a happy birthday . 
