Photo of the Day

A man with a parachute pack strapped to his back jumps out of a plane high above earth
December 19, 2019

Free Falling

In 1960, U.S. Air Force Captain Joseph Kittinger, Jr. set the record for the highest parachute jump, falling 102,800 feet and landing in New Mexico. National Geographic staff photographer Volkmar Wentzel rigged a camera to the inside of the gondola, capturing the moment Kittinger lept and began his fall. The record held until 2012.

Photograph by Volkmar Wentzel, National Geographic
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