On the first day of 2024, the European Space Agency (ESA) shared a captivating time-lapse video featuring our planet Earth as seen from the International Space Station (ISS).
The awe-inspiring footage, captured by ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, showcased the mesmerising ocean-blue Earth viewed from the space ship’s window.
In an Instagram post, ESA conveyed New Year wishes, stating, “Happy New Year, Earth. With this Timelapse captured from the @iss by our astronaut Andreas Mogensen, we want to wish you a peaceful, safe, and exciting year 2024! May the new year be full of grand adventures and opportunities! We’ll keep bringing the wonders of the universe and Earth to the palm of your hands.”
The video has garnered attention from nearly 14,000 online users, with many expressing their awe at the breathtaking scenes.
One Instagram user commented, “Thank you so much for sharing it. It’s amazing,” while another remarked, “To another wonderful year of what our species can do… when we dare to transcend.”
ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, who captured the remarkable footage, also shared the video on his personal Instagram account.
In his caption, he shared insights into celebrating New Year’s in space, stating, “New Year’s Greetings from space! Traveling at 28,000 kilometers per hour, the Space Station will cross the International Date Line several times tonight, so we will be celebrating New Year’s multiple times up here.”
Mogensen explained the crew’s celebration routine, mentioning, “The day is spent with the crew, where we relax, enjoy some good food, and perhaps take a trip to the Cupola to look down at Earth. Unfortunately, we can’t see fireworks from up here, but the view of Earth is still fantastic. And we have 1 January off to slowly start up the New Year.”
The images featured Christmas decor in the background, and Mogensen captioned the post, “Now it’s Christmas at the Space Station too! Merry Christmas from our ‘family’ to yours. Hope your evening was as fun as ours.” The post garnered numerous comments from netizens extending their holiday wishes to the astronauts on board the spacecraft.
(With inputs from agencies)
