Almost 46 years ago to the date, the Lunar Orbiter 1 spacecraft took the first satellite image of Earth from orbital space around its moon. That image became a symbol for the space age.

This image, shot from the Curiosity rover on Mars, should be the symbol for our post-space age.

We are no longer looking at ourselves as a part of a whole, residents of a biosphere. Rather, we now see ourselves disappear into the distance. A flicker of light. A candle flame about to drown in a pool of wax.

Update: I’ve been notified that this is not an image shot by Curiosity, but a software- rendered or modified image, based on one shot by the rover. This only adds another dimension to its appropriateness as a symbol for our time.