Featured Image Credit: NASA via Getty Images
Topics: Space, Twitter, Social Media, Earth
Ellie Kemp
A NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station has shared her awe-inspiring experience of watching the sun rise from 250 miles above Earth.
If you're someone who loves capturing breathtaking scenery bathed in the glow of a sunrise - or sunset - while on vacation, then the International Space Station (ISS) might be your ultimate destination.
Especially if the latest photos from NASA pilot Nichole Ayers are anything to go by.
The US Air Force Major soared into space as part of the highly anticipated Crew-10 Mission on March 14. Ayers is spending six months aboard the ISS alongside an elite team of astronauts, including Anne McClain, Takuya Onishi, Kirill Peskov, Jonny Kim, Sergey Ryzhikov, and Alexey Zubritskiy.
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The crew has assumed duties from Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who were unexpectedly stranded on the station for a while.
Throughout their mission, the team conducts cutting-edge scientific research and performs crucial maintenance to keep the orbiting laboratory running smoothly.
And while their work is important, one of the coolest perks of living on the ISS has to be the out-of-this-world vistas - quite literally.
Ayers had already shared her envy-inducing view of the Southern Lights from space earlier in the month. And before then, she posted a mind-bending perspective of the Moon, too.
Now, she's returned with another set of photos, this time showcasing the stunning sunrises from 250 miles above the Earth's surface.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), she shared four stunning photos of the sun rising.
"I love sunrises in space just as much as I do on Earth," Ayers wrote. "Just look at the cloud heights and depth out on the Earth's limb."
One social media user responded: "Stunning! Our Earth really is so beautiful and precious!" as second echoed: "The photos of the sunrises from space are stunning! Thanks for sharing."
"So cool. And you get to see many each day. Sweet!" a third pointed out.
"Wow that's incredible, I've never seen a sunrise in space before," a fourth said, while a fifth simply commented: "Breath-taking!"
Ayers is set to potentially catch 2,900 sunrises and sunsets during her six-month stint on the ISS. That's because the lab orbits Earth at a speed of five miles per second, completing a full orbit every 90 minutes.
In 24 hours, then, the space station makes 16 orbits of our planet, travelling through 16 sunrises and sunsets. Doing the math, in a year, ISS astronauts would see the sun set and rise an incredible 5,800 times.
I don't know about you, but space tourism is starting to sound all the more appealing to me now...