Swedish astronaut Marcus Wandt has recently returned from a 20-day space mission, during which he took and shared stunning images of the Earth’s orbit. 
He captured an abstract view of Earth’s horizon while passing over Mongolia. 
He also captured Earth’s nightglow over South America, with galaxies twinkling in the deep beyond. It is believed that Wandt used the space station’s new Nikon Z cameras for these remarkable photos, as these were recently installed on the ISS. In January, 13 Nikon Z9 cameras, 15 FTZ II adapters, and over 15 Nikkor Z lenses were launched to the ISS.
Marcus, a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut, departed for the ISS on January 18. While on board, he supported nearly 20 European experiments and dedicated over 100 hours to science and technology demonstrations. Apart from his scientific duties, Marcus also displayed his photography skills by recording a 360-degree video inside the seven-windowed cupola — the International Space Station’s “window to the world”. Window to the world in 360°. Pan around to enjoy #Earth views from inside @esa’s Cupola on the International @Space_Station. pic.twitter.com/OayC35a12M — Marcus Wandt (@astro_marcus) February 1, 2024 Upon Marcus’s return, Anna Rathsman, Director General of the Swedish National Space Agency, acknowledged his significant contribution to Swedish and international research. She emphasized that his space mission played a crucial role in upholding Sweden’s position in space knowledge and inspiring a new generation of Swedes in the field of natural sciences. This is how I see the International @Space_Station from the inside. My working station is an incredible piece of spacecraft engineering. On it I travel about 400 km above your heads at 28 000 km per hour, circling Earth approximately 16 times every day. The Space Station is… pic.twitter.com/So9QMKtztI — Marcus Wandt (@astro_marcus) February 5, 2024 Wandt took part in Axiom Space’s third private mission to the ISS, which was initially planned for two weeks but was extended due to unfavorable weather conditions affecting their splashdown site off the coast of Daytona, Florida. Image credits: ESA/Marcus Wandt
