The International Space Station (ISS) and its crew of six astronauts complete a lap around Earth every 90 minutes. During these rapid orbits, the astronauts have a 45-minute window of daylight during which the Earth reveals its natural wonders. This gives NASA’s astronauts an incredible opportunity to photograph the planet’s various geographical and manmade features. Here, Express.co.uk takes a look at some of the best photos of Earth taken by astronauts on the Space Station.
NASA tweeted: “Earth is special. It is the only place in the universe that we know contains life.
“Celebrate its beauty by taking a look at these breathtaking images of our home planet, as captured by crew members aboard the @Space_Station.”
The Mediterranean coasts of Tunisia and Libya
Taken on July 26, 2019, this photo shows the Mediterranean coasts of Tunisia and Libya in Northern Africa when the ISS passed 260 miles above the planet.
Towards the curve of the Earth, you can also make out the Italian island of Sicily and the southern tip of the Italian boot.
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NASA news: Here are some of NASA’s most amazing photos of Earth from space (Image: NASA JOHNSON)
NASA news: The coastal tip of North Africa and the outline of Sicily and mainland Italy (Image: NASA JOHNSON)
The ‘Eye of the Sahara’
This incredible geographical feature looks like a series of concentric rings carved into the rocks of the Saharan desert.
NASA said: “From an altitude of 255 miles, an Expedition 59 crewmember photographed the Richat Structure, or the ‘Eye of the Sahara’, in northwestern Mauritania.
“The circular geologic feature is thought to be caused by an uplifted dome—geologists would classify it as a domed anticline—that has been eroded to expose the originally flat rock layers.”
The photo was snapped earlier this year on March 5, 2019.
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The well-lit coasts of Spain, France and Italy
On May 13, this year, one of NASA’s astronauts snapped a mesmerising view of human activity lighting up Western Europe.
NASA said: “This oblique nighttime view of Western Europe and the well-lit coasts – from left – of Spain, France and Italy was taken from the International Space Station as it orbited 256 miles above the Mediterranean Sea.”
In the dead of night, the amount of light coming from our biggest cities is bright enough to be seen from space.
And because the ISS enters nighttime every 45 minutes, astronauts have more than once chance to capture beautiful photos like this.
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NASA news: The Eye of the Sahara pictured from 255 miles up (Image: NASA JOHNSON)
NASA news: You can see the cities of Spain and France at night from space (Image: NASA JOHNSON)
Two docked Russian spaceships above the Atlantic Ocean
This NASA picture shows two Russian Soyuz spacecraft docked to the space station.
Earth is special. It is the only place in the universe that we know contains life
Since the end of the Space Shuttle programme in 2011, NASA has relied on its Russian counterpart Roscosmos to deliver astronauts to the orbital laboratory.
This photo was taken over the Atlantic Ocean on June 12, 2019.
NASA said: “Two docked Russian spaceships, the Soyuz MS-12 crew ship – foreground – and the Progress 72 resupply ship, are pictured as the International Space Station orbited 258 miles above the Atlantic Ocean northeast of Puerto Rico.”
NASA news: Two Russian Soyuz spacecraft docked to the ISS with Earth in the background (Image: NASA JOHNSON)
NASA news: The space station sees 16 sunsets and 16 sunrises every day (Image: NASA JOHNSON)
Flying into an orbital sunset above the Pacific Ocean
This surreal picture shows one of the 16 sunsets the ISS’ crew witnesses every single day.
NASA said: “The International Space Station was flying into an orbital sunset 259 miles above the Pacific Ocean passing 600 miles off the coast of the Mexican state of Michoacan.”
The photo was snapped this year on June 11.
Because the ISS travels around at more than 17,000mph, the space station goes through 16 sunsets and 16 sunrises every single day.
NASA news: The green lights are aurora effects over Russia and Kazakhstan (Image: NASA JOHNSON)
City lights and the aurora over Russia and Kazakhstan
In this photo, NASA’s astronauts passed over Russia and Kazakstan at a height of 256 miles.
The small concentrations of golden light are the individual cities lit up at night.
And the green streak running along the curve of the planet are the Northern Lights – aurora effects triggered by solar particles exciting the gas in the atmosphere.
NASA said: “City lights and the aurora are pictured during a nighttime pass as the International Space Station orbited 256 miles above Russia and Kazakhstan.”