International Space Station Archives

NASA

Incredible Images From Space Through the Lens of Astronaut Don Pettit

May 15, 2025 NASA

On his 70th birthday, astronaut Don Pettit returned to Earth after 220 days aboard the International Space Station, his fourth trip to space.

Astronaut Don Pettit capturing images with a large camera inside the ISS cupola, surrounded by equipment and views of space through multiple windows.

While conducting science and staying fit like any good astronaut, Pettit also pursued his passion: capturing Earth from orbit.

The New York Times has a beautiful visual tribute to Pettit’s time in space, and over 200 of his beautiful images.

A spacecraft approaching Earth, captured from the International Space Station. The planet is visible with clouds and the atmosphere, illuminated by distant stars.

Armed with up to five cameras at once, Pettit turned the ISS cupola into a cosmic photo studio, documenting meteors, volcanic eruptions, and lightning storms.

Aerial view of a coastal landscape with water and land features, showing vapor trails in the sky, possibly from rocket launches or other activities happening on the surface.

“Most people will never go to space,” he said. “I try to give them a glimpse.”

A stunning satellite image of a river delta, displaying vibrant reddish hues and intricate branching patterns as the water flows into the ocean.

The images he captured are incredible, showcasing how alive and dynamic our blue planet really is.

More than an astronaut, Pettit is a space-bound storyteller, reminding us just how stunning, and fleeting our planet really is.

A stunning view of Earth from the International Space Station, showcasing a vibrant aurora and streaks of light over the planet's surface.

See more of Pettit’s amazing images on The NY Times.

A stunning image of the International Space Station with bright star trails and atmospheric glow, capturing the dynamic movement around Earth.

View from the International Space Station showing a stunning starry sky and the edge of Earth illuminated with a gradient of colors.

Aerial view of a city illuminated at night, featuring a coastline with a prominent circular structure and various buildings lit up against a dark background.

A breathtaking view of Earth from space, showcasing the Milky Way galaxy filled with stars above the planet's atmosphere, accentuated by colorful auroras near the horizon.

Images © Don Pettit and NASA.

Outer Space

Even Astronauts Are Voting From Space

October 27, 2020 Outer Space

2020 is a year you might want to wait out in outer space. But even if you were to find yourself off the surface of the Earth, you’d still want to vote this year. Astronaut Kate Rubins will cast her vote from the International Space Station, emphasizing the importance of our civic duties.

“I think it’s really important for everybody to vote. If we can do it from space, then I believe folks can do it from the ground, too.”

– Astronaut Kate Rubin

Future

SpaceX Poised to Send Astronauts to the Space Station for the First Time

May 26, 2020 Future

It’s been nearly a decade since the last Space Shuttle mission left earth, bound for the International Space Station. Since then, no American rocket has carried astronauts, and they’ve relied exclusively on Russian Soyuz rockets to reach orbit.

Now, after many years of preparation and testing, SpaceX, the private company founded by Elon Musk, is set to carry two American astronauts, using the Crew Dragon capsule.

Veteran astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will take the inaugural flight, in SpaceX’s custom new spacesuits, and brand new capsule.

The launch is set for May 27 at 4:30 pm Eastern, and if successful, will be a monumental achievement for the private company, which is under a multi-billion contract from NASA to bring astronauts to the space station.

Make sure to tune into the launch for this historic event.

Nature

Russian Cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin’s Images of Earth from the Space Station

February 2, 2020 Nature

The International Space Station is a marvel of engineering, and has also provided an amazing vantage point for photographing our blue marble below. Russian Cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin has some of the most time spent aboard the space station, with over 672 days spent in space.

Over that time he has captured some incredible photos of Earth. Below are some of his collection, showing tropical islands, volcanoes, the winding Amazon, and so many more unique and beautiful perspectives.

We always find that looking at the Earth from above shows us the small fragility of our only home, and how we need to protect it.

Via Design You Trust:

Documentary Film

Russian Volcano Erupting, As Seen From Space

July 2, 2019 Documentary Film

Talk about an out-of-this-world photo! Taken from the International Space Station, the amazing photos show Raikoke Volcano on Russia’s Kuril Islands erupting this past weekend. The massive plumes reached eight miles into the sky, and even caused flight disruptions in that part of the world.

Via Colossal:

Via NASA:

On the morning of June 22, astronauts shot a photograph of the volcanic plume rising in a narrow column and then spreading out in a part of the plume known as the umbrella region. That is the area where the density of the plume and the surrounding air equalize and the plume stops rising. The ring of clouds at the base of the column appears to be water vapor.

Art

Breathtaking Earth from Above Video

January 14, 2019 Art

In this stunning time-lapse video, we see a perspective of our beautiful planet that we’ve never witnessed before. Using footage from the International Space Station, we’re given a vantage point of clouds and continents drifting along, from a height that given an awe-inspiring perspective, at around 270 miles above Earth. Photographer Bruce W. Berry Jr. has taken the publicly-available footage, and edited it into a beautiful video called The World Below. Via Colossal:

Documentary Film

Hurricane Florence From Space

September 13, 2018 Documentary Film

Hurricanes are huge and devastating forces, made even stronger in recent years, due to warming oceans, and a changing climate. We’re amazed by the ability for humans to now witness these massive storms from the vantage point of space. Below are a collection of images both from satellites and the International Space Station, showing the size and power of Hurricane Florence, due to impact the east coast of the United States this week. From such a height, the cyclone almost appears peaceful and gentle, yet ground level would tell an entirely different story, with 100+mph winds, and recorded waves of over 85 feet high. Marvel at the beauty of nature, respect the power, and stay safe. Via NASA:

Future

Axiom Space Station

June 12, 2018 Future

https://vimeo.com/272648228

The Axiom Space Station plans to take the place of the ISS, or International Space Station, which has been humanity’s only permanently-inhabitated craft in low earth orbit for the last 18 years. It’s a wildly ambitious project, considering that building in space is the most expensive and complicated place imaginable. Axiom, which will be privately-funded, boasts a lot of current and former NASA power, and with the ISS being decommissioned in 2024, it’s plausible that Axiom’s station will take it’s place in that same timeframe.

Inside the new station, vastly improved living quarters will provide comfort and safety, thanks to the design by Philippe Starck. Indeed, the Axiom Space Station will serve as one of the very first space tourism destinations, allowing visitors up on 7-10 day trips, for the low price of $55 million per person. In addition, continued science and exploration will continue, and we imagine there will be more of the station’s habitat modules in the years to follow. Start saving now.

Via Uncrate:

Art

Cloud Casting Shadows on Earth

September 5, 2014 Art

Have you ever seen a thousand-mile-long-shadow? Thanks to these great shots from the International Space Station, now you have. Taken from space, it’s breathtaking to see these long shadows cast by the complex and ever-changing skies over our beautiful blue planet. Via Colossal:
Clouds Cast Thousand Mile Shadows into Space When Viewed Aboard the International Space Station space shadows ISS Earth clouds

Clouds Cast Thousand Mile Shadows into Space When Viewed Aboard the International Space Station space shadows ISS Earth clouds

Branding/Identity

X-ray Spacesuits

August 16, 2013 Branding/Identity

There’s something wonderfully crisp and tight about these xray images of vintage NASA space gear, and the see-through vision gives light to some of the technical aspects of these suits. Some of the metal housing and joints make the suits look like they’re made from slinkies, and the fact that these 60s-era suits look pretty much like today’s shows how advanced they were for the day.

Via FastoCo Design: 1673218-inline-4857-640

Architecture

1970s Space Colony Concepts

August 5, 2013 Architecture

Space.com has a collection of awesome and highly optimistic renderings of space colonies, as seen from the 1970s. Can you imagine a fully-fledged farm in space? Now, this was post moon landing, and the sense of conquering space seemed more plausible than it does today. Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium features a floating space colony, called a Stanford Torus, circa 2154.

Images via NASA

Design

Chris Hadfield’s Space Oddity

May 13, 2013 Design

Chris Hadfield is definitely the most charismatic astronaut in popular culture today. I’m not sure if that’s saying much, but the man is electric, doing science experiments over YouTube and actually getting people interested in outer space. He’s from the Canadian Space Agency, and he recently did an amazing cover of David Bowie’s Space Oddity, while literally floating through outer space (in the International Space Station). Its him playing and singing, and Chris, thank you for making space cool.

Screen Shot 2013-05-13 at 10.27.32 PM

Design

This Globe of Ours

July 23, 2012 Design

Simply jaw-dropping photography from the International Space Station.

View from the ISS at Night from Knate Myers on Vimeo.

Future

Long Exposures from Space

June 11, 2012 Future

Colossal has a collection of long exposure photography taken from the International Space Station. Pretty amazing stuff. What a view…

Star Trails: Incredible Long Exposure Photographs Shot from Space

Star Trails: Incredible Long Exposure Photographs Shot from Space space photography

Over the past two months NASA has been releasing a number of wonderful long exposure photographs taken by astronaut Don Pettit aboard the International Space Station. While there are many photos like these taken from the perspective of the Earth’s surface, Pettit’s images are unique in that they incorporate the passing blur of entire illuminated cities, aurora, and the sporadic flashes of lightening from thunderstorms. Check out many more photos from the series here. (via petapixel)