Out-of-this-world cosmic shots from the International Space Station: photos
Now safely returned to Earth, the spaceman has taken time to reveal more of his incredible pictures.
Pettit has completed four spaceflights, accumulating a total of 590 days in space, making him one of NASA's most experienced astronauts.
His last mission saw him spend 220 days on the station, before landing in Kazakhstan on April 20, which was also his 70th birthday.
1 of
12 Don Pettit aboard the International Space Station during his 2024 mission.
NASA / SWNS
2 of
12 Don Pettit: 'Cosmic colors at sunrise; never get tired of seeing what the new day brings.'
Don Pettit / ISS / SWNS
3 of
12 Don Pettit: 'High resolution star trail from the SpaceX Crew 9 Dragon, marked by a fleet of flashing Starlink satellites, glowing atmosphere, soon to rise sun, and arcing stars.'
Don Pettit / ISS / SWNS
4 of
12 Don Pettit: 'From orbit, star trails streak the lights of cities at night and stamp lightning flashes into the time history, pulling spectacular colors from the darkness of space.'
Don Pettit / ISS / SWNS
5 of
12 Don Pettit: 'SpaceX Dragon flies between the stars of deep space, and a sea of clouds lit by the red upper atmospheric airglow.'
Don Pettit / ISS / SWNS
6 of
12 'The city lights of Southeast Asia beneath the Milky Way. Vibrant colors of LED cities, orange atmospheric airglow, and fishing fleets are blurred by my sidereal drive, while tracking stars as fixed points in space.'
Don Pettit / ISS / SWNS
7 of
12 Don Pettit: 'Auroras above Andromeda.'
Don Pettit / ISS / SWNS
8 of
12 Don Pettit: 'Star trail from the ISS showing sequential lightning flashes on Earth below streaking stars in deep space.'
Don Pettit / ISS / SWNS
9 of
12 Don Pettit: 'ISS orbiting the sunlit shores of Greece, while Italy sinks into clouds below, and Turkey approaches on the horizon. 3 peninsulas with rich and ancient histories.'
Don Pettit / ISS / SWNS
10 of
12 Don Pettit: 'Dragon flying among the stars.'
Don Pettit / ISS / SWNS
11 of
12 Don Pettit: 'Color of Earth meets the blackness of deep space. Stars above green and red auroras, seen as fixed points due to my homemade orbital sidereal drive.'
Don Pettit / ISS / SWNS
12 of
12 Don Pettit: 'Depths of space meets depths of the Pacific Ocean.'
Don Pettit/ISS / SWNS
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