A private astronaut visiting the International Space Station as part of the Axion-3 mission has been sharing some eye-catching images captured inside the orbital outpost.
Swede Marcus Wandt broke out the wide-angle lens to share a perspective rarely seen aboard the space station, showing the complex mass of cables, experiments, and various equipment that fills the Columbus laboratory.
“An astronaut’s perspective,” Wendt wrote in a social media post that also asks: “How does this photo make you feel: relaxed, stressed, giddy or wanting to rearrange everything?”
An astronaut's perspective.
How does this photo make you feel: relaxed, stressed, giddy or wanting to rearrange everything?
📸: @esa's Columbus lab on the International @Space_Station. pic.twitter.com/1IjfOmYdcl— Marcus Wandt (@astro_marcus) January 25, 2024
Clearly enjoying his temporary home, Wendt shared a long-exposure shot of himself taking full advantage of the microgravity conditions. “Time flies,” he wrote in the post.
Time flies.
I arrived at the International @Space_Station a week ago. I only have one more week to get back to #Earth. #Muninn #Ax3 pic.twitter.com/nFj9ot61eo
— Marcus Wandt (@astro_marcus) January 27, 2024
Wendt also expressed his amazement at the unique views that he’s been savoring while in orbit some 250 miles above Earth.
“It is breathtaking to look down on Earth,” he wrote. “I have heard about the overview effect before. I must confess that I get a bit overwhelmed seeing so much at once, and realizing how fast we travel around the world, and how small everything seems from here.”
Wendt added: “The world is incredibly beautiful and something we need to take care of and look after.”
It is breathtaking to look down on Earth.
I have heard about the overview effect before. I must confess that I get a bit overwhelmed seeing so much at once, and realising how fast we travel around the world, and how small everything seems from here. The world is incredibly… pic.twitter.com/WWf1RvWiYx— Marcus Wandt (@astro_marcus) January 28, 2024
Another wide-angle shot marks Wendt’s first week in space and shares some of the science work that he’s been working on while in orbit.
First #science week in space for @astro_marcus. Our astronaut spent more than 40 hours on European experiments. Here are some of his @ISS_Research tasks:
🤖 Teleoperate 3 robots on Earth.
😴 Monitor sleep patterns.
🩻 Check bones.
📈 Test stress and performance levels.
🖲️… pic.twitter.com/zrzwaXchhx— Human Spaceflight (@esaspaceflight) January 29, 2024
Wendt arrived at the ISS with three other crewmembers on January 20 as part of Axiom Space’s third private mission and first all-European voyage. The Texas-based company worked with SpaceX and NASA to launch its first private mission in April 2022, following up with another one in May last year.
During their time aboard the ISS, the Ax-3 crew are working on more than 30 science experiments and taking part in more than 50 outreach events with various organizations back on Earth. And one of the crewmembers is taking some pretty awesome photos, too.
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