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Gorgeous Photo Shows the US Seen from Aboard the ISS

The photo was taken by NASA astronaut Scott Kelly

Sep 18, 2015 20:30 GMT  ·  By
What the US looks like seen from aboard the ISS
   What the US looks like seen from aboard the ISS

This past Thursday, September 17, the International Space Station flew across the US. It was early morning but NASA astronaut Scott Kelly was wide awake. 

He grabbed his camera and snapped a gorgeous photo of the landscapes the orbital complex was flying over. He even made a video, which he shared on Twitter together with the photo.

“Clear skies over much of the USA today. #GoodMonring from @Space_Station! #YearInSpace,” the NASA space explorer captioned his aerial view of the US.

Just the other day, on September 15, Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko of Roscosmos celebrated their 171st day in orbit. Thus, it was on March 27 that astronauts arrived at the orbital complex.

The pair are to spend a total of 342 days aboard the International Space Station, meaning that they will return to Earth only next year, on March 3.

Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko were asked to spend an entire year in orbit so that researchers might get the chance to study how space conditions affect the human body.

Such studies are very much needed if we are to even stand a chance to send crews of astronauts to Mars or some other distant orb and then safely return them home.

“The pair are spending 342 days in space to help researchers better understand how the human body reacts and adapts to long duration spaceflight,” explains NASA.