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A view of Earth from the International Space Station. The Atlantic Ocean spreads out in front of us, with Earth's atmosphere appearing as a thin, hazy, light blue line bordering Earth. Sunlight shines off of the middle of the ocean, highlighting the edges of clouds over the water.
NASA

The Sun’s glint beams off a partly cloudy Atlantic Ocean just after sunrise as the International Space Station orbited 263 miles above on March 5, 2025. The space station serves as a unique platform for observing Earth with both hands-on and automated equipment. Station crew members have produced hundreds of thousands of images, recording phenomena such as storms in real time, observing natural events such as volcanic eruptions as they happen, and providing input to ground personnel for programming automated Earth-sensing systems.

NASA has been observing Earth from space for more than 60 years, with cutting-edge scientific technology that can revolutionize our understanding of our home planet and provide benefits to all humanity.

Image credit: NASA

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