On February 29, the NASA astronaut Scott Kelly will turn over command of the International Space Station to astronaut Tim Kopra, then prepare to return to Earth after spending nearly a year in space. Last March, Kelly and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko launched into low Earth orbit aboard the ISS, and have since participated in hundreds of experiments while the effects of long-term microgravity on the human body were studied. Kelly also took hundreds of photographs during his year abroad, posting many to his Twitter account. As we await the return of Kelly and Kornienko tomorrow, here are some of his photographs from the past year.
Images of Earth From a Year in Space
- Alan Taylor
- February 29, 2016
- 30 Photos
- In Focus
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An overhead view of San Francisco, California, with Golden Gate Bridge visible at lower left. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
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Airglow in the upper atmosphere, and the Milky Way in the background. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
The Richat Structure, a land feature in Mauritania. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
Sand, sea, and islands in the Bahamas. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
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Washington, D.C. at night. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
An oblique mountain view. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
San Rafael Reef, Utah. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
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Colorful skies at sunset. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
Oil fields in West Texas. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
Glaciers in Tajikistan. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
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Cold weather and cloud formations off the east coast of North America. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
Lake Tengis, Kazakhstan. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
Seen from orbit, the launch of the Cygnus resupply spacecraft atop an Atlas V rocket in December of 2015. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
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Shanghai, China, at night. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
Space Flowers. Some of the crop of plants Kelly tended while in orbit. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
Aurora Borealis over the Pacific Northwest. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
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Snow-covered fields. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
A tiny island in a big ocean. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
Northwest Libya. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
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Cloud formation above Qatar. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
New York City. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
Soyuz spacecraft on approach to the ISS. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
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Italy and the Alps. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
An Aleutian island. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
Lake Mackay, Australia. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
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Dunes. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
Macedonia. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
Australia. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
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Cyclone Ashobaa near Oman. #
Scott Kelly / NASA -
Posted February 28, 2016, titled “Fire.” #
Scott Kelly / NASA
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