Since ISS arrived, astronaut Doug Hurley has been sharing photos of the Earth on his social networks
Since May 31, astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken have been stationed at International Space Station (ISS), in a joint mission between SpaceX and the NASA, and among the various activities that both have to perform at the station, one of them ends up standing out because it looks like that of any tourist on a vacation: taking pictures.
But, instead of pictures of tourist places or local monuments, as a good astronaut Hurley has taken several pictures of the privileged and impressive view he has of the planet Earth. So we selected some of the earth photos most impressive that the astronaut took during his stay on the ISS, and that help us understand the beauty of our planet.
The best photos on Earth
One of the photos that clearly has a lot of meaning for the astronaut is one he took from the Great Lakes region, which is in the northern part of the state of New York (USA). This photo has a special meaning because it was in this region that Hurley was born and lived throughout his childhood.
New York's Great Lakes Region seen from space (Image: Doug Hurley / NASA)Another interesting photo taken by the astronaut is that of the Los Angeles Basin, which is in the southern region of the state of California (USA). in this region, which is the SpaceX, where the Crew Dragon ship that took the astronaut to the ISS was built. In the photo you can also see the islands of Santa Catalina and So Clemente, which are located near the coast of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Basin region seen from space (Image: Doug Hurley / NASA)Still talking about islands, Hurley also took a photo of the Bahamas, a place considered as one of the most beautiful in the world and which, as we can see, maintains all its grandeur even seen from space.
Bahamas region seen from space (Image: Doug Hurley / NASA)Another impressive photo was taken by the astronaut from inside the Cupola (an observatory that exists inside the International Space Station) and that captures the moment when the ISS starts to leave a part of the planet that is at daytime and move to the hemisphere where at night, creating a beautiful image where we can see this transition well.
Moment when the ISS begins to enter the region of Earth that is at night (Image: Doug Hurley / NASA)The photo below shows a sandstorm that affects three countries in the Middle East (Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia), and it is impressive how the strength of the storm is so great that it is possible to see the movement of the sand even in the space.
Sandstorm in the Middle East seen from space (Image: Doug Hurley / NASA)The importance of Crew Dragon
Doug Hurley was one of two astronauts who entered history on May 30, when the Crew Dragon spacecraft, developed by SpaceX, managed to successfully take off from the Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, located in the state of Florida (USA).
The launch was a historic event for two reasons: because it was the first manned space flight made by a private company, and because it was a return to mission launches with astronauts from the United States, since since 2011 the NASA it depended on Russian ships to take its astronauts into space.
The success of this trip can also increase the amount of public / private partnerships for space exploration. Only this year, the NASA has already signed a contract with Virgin Galactic to coordinate a space tourism scheme, in addition to confirming that Tom Cruise will be the first Hollywood star to shoot a film in space and everything indicates that this type of partnership between NASA and the private sector is expected to increase further in the coming years.
Source: Doug Hurley's Twitter Profile
