25 exceptional photos from space by astronaut Thomas Pesquet
During his six-month mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS), European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet captured the imagination of countless people here on Earth. By publishing amazing photographs and videos on social media, this French astronaut from Rouen was able to share his experience with the world.
He also participated in many activities with the Canadian Space Agency during his stay aboard the ISS, including recording videos to explain Canadian projects like the Canadian CubeSat Project, Tomatosphere, and At Home in Space, and performing an original Canadian composition live for Music and Space.
To commemorate the end of his mission on , here are 25 incredible pictures he captured while in space.
Waters in Senegal
– Incredible colour effects on the water of the Saloum Delta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Senegal. Sea levels are rising due to climate change—we need to take action! (Credit: ESA/NASA)
Thomas Pesquet, space photographer
– How do astronauts take so many great pictures? They have lots of cameras on the ISS and an awesome view, especially from the Cupola. (Credit: ESA/NASA)
Egypt & the Sinai desert
– Egypt and the Sinai desert with clouds to the north. (Credit: ESA/NASA)
Beautiful city of Paris
– An amazing picture of Paris, the appropriately named city of lights! (Credit: ESA/NASA)
Icy Canada
– Icy Canada looks like marble seen from space. (Credit: ESA/NASA)
Space selfie
– The requisite space selfie! Nice reflection of the Earth in the helmet. Unbelievable feeling to be your own space vehicle! (Credit: ESA/NASA)
Blue gradient
– File under desktop wallpaper: the blue gradients of a sunrise. (Credit: ESA/NASA)
Flying by
– Another long-exposure picture of our vehicles above passing city lights and star trails. (Credit: ESA/NASA)
Dangling my feet in space
– Let's start the week on the right foot! This photo really captures an astronaut's view during a spacewalk: 400 km of void under your feet! (Credit: ESA/NASA)
Star shower… or almost
– It's not a star shower, but it sure looks like it! Flying at 28000 km/h allows us to see the starry sky parading before our eyes like a mobile in a child's room, except life-size. (Credit: ESA/NASA)
Spain
– Spain is full of surprises! As we flew over, I noticed these distinct landscapes that are rich in colour and seemingly made up of mosaics. Finest spring art! (Credit: ESA/NASA)
Spacewalk
– Picture taken during a six-hour spacewalk during which the astronauts performed maintenance on the ISS. (Credit: ESA/NASA)
The lights from Earth
– Note how thin the atmosphere is! (Credit: ESA/NASA)
Canadarm2 holding Cygnus
– The Cygnus spacecraft is manoeuvred to berthing by Canadarm2 thanks to operators on the ground. (Credit: ESA/NASA)
Wedding rings floating in space
– In my 1.5 kg "hand luggage,"
I brought the wedding rings of my friends getting married this summer! I'll be back in time to be their witness. (Credit: ESA/NASA)
Blue Bahamas
– Kilometres of blue in the white-sanded Bahamas. (Credit: ESA/NASA)
Quick selfie during a spacewalk
– Quick selfie during a spacewalk. (Credit: ESA/NASA)
Aurora and the rising Sun
– Hi Florida! Your shape stands out against the dark, an aurora in the north, and the rising sun in the east. (Credit: ESA/NASA)
Superheroes in space
– The cutest question I've been asked so far: my friend's daughter (who saw me floating in weightlessness) wanted to know at what age my superpowers had kicked in! She was clearly worried about why she could not fly herself yet. (Credit: ESA/NASA)
Sunset
– A sunset from space in the style of Samantha Cristoforetti's pictures she took during her Futura mission in . (Credit: ESA/NASA)
Madagascar
– The Betsiboka River in Madagascar, one of the most unbelievable landscapes I've seen so far. Madagascar and Africa are so beautiful from space! (Credit: ESA/NASA)
Astronauts approaching the ISS in the Soyuz spacecraft
– Coming from Earth, here are the two soon-to-be members of Expedition 51! (Credit: ESA/NASA)
A show of lights
– The view at night recently has been simply magnificent: few clouds, intense auroras. I can't look away from the windows. (Credit: ESA/NASA)
Flying like Michael Jordan
– The perks of weightlessness? I can fulfil my dream and fly like Michael Jordan up here! (Credit: ESA/NASA)
Europe in lights
– Europe by night under clear skies is a carpet of lights! (Credit: ESA/NASA)
For more images, have a look at 16 stunning pictures taken from space in .