Astronauts' snapshots from space light up the Twitterverse
Astronauts have long enjoyed the best views of Earth. Now thanks to social media, the rest of the planet can peek over their shoulders.
Five of the six current crew members on the International Space Station are active on Twitter, posting photos of their daily activities, projects, spacewalks, and their out-of-this-world views of Earth from around 240 miles above its surface.
Astronaut Oleg Artemyev posted a video the ISS's capture of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, which was transporting supplies and equipment to the crew, on July 3, 2018.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
Traveling at a rate of 5 miles per second, the ISS sees 16 sunrises and sunsets in a 24-hour period alone.
Astronaut Alexander Gerst posted a photo of polar mesospheric clouds, which are composed of tiny ice crystals and are most easily viewed in late spring and early summer, taken from the ISS on July 17, 2018.
After launching in 1998, the ISS has seen more than 230 astronauts from 18 countries. The current crew includes Russians Oleg Artemyev and Sergey Prokopyev, Americans A.J. (Drew) Feustel, Ricky Arnold and S. Aunon-Chancellor, and German Alexander Gerst
Of the six, only Prokopyev doesn't maintain a Twitter account.
Astronaut A.J. Feustel posted a video of a check-in with fellow astronaut Ricky Arnold's gardening project with Arabidopsis - a small flowering plant indigenous to Europe - taken on the ISS on July 9, 2018.
Use Spot the Station to find out when you can see the ISS overhead.