SPACE EXPLORATION ENTHUSIASTS have lamented the loss of Chris Hadfield from the International Space Station in recent weeks.
His educational videos, spectacular images and surprising singing ability awakened an interest in ordinary people about what NASA and other agencies were up to above our planet.
But the moustachioed Canadian’s replacement might prove just as popular.
Somewhat of an old hand at spacewalking, Russian Federal Space Agency cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin has already taken part in three expeditions, clocking up 371 days in space.
During his last mission on the ISS in 2010, he produced two catalogues of wondrous images of earth, as it appears in space. Here’s a selection for your enjoyment.
Note: Only some of the photos are captioned by the astronaut. Others, we just have to guess what we are looking at because we can’t ask him (he’s in space).
Hurricane Daniel
Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
The moon
Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
Mountains
Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
The Andes. Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
The foothills of the Himalayas. Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
Sunset
Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
Africa Erosion
Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
Islands
Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
The Bahamas. Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
The Falkland Islands. Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
Australia
Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, in the heart of Australia. Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
On the shore of Australia. Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
Banks Peninsula, New Zealand
Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
Alaska
Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
London and Paris
Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
Dunes
Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
The Kamchatka Peninsula
The 1,250-kilometre peninsula the Russian Far East lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west. Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
The glaciers of Patagonia
Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
Yurchikhin's hometown of Batumi
Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
Untitled
Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
Image: Fyodor Yurchikhin/Russian Space Agency
For more images, check out the Russian Federation's website. Hat-tip to reader Seán O' Dulaing for bring these images to our attention.
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