Repairing an engineering marvel like the International Space Station is no easy feat by itself, but it’s even more impressive when it’s done 250 miles (400 kilometers) up.
What is it?
In this photograph, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Sophie Adenot works on the exterior of the International Space Station on Aug. 25, 2026.
The photo was taken while Adenot and NASA astronaut Anil Menon were conducting a 6.5-hour spacewalk, or extravehicular activity (EVA), to replace one of two Space-to-Ground antennas on the outside of the ISS.
This was the second EVA that Adenot and Menon performed to replace the antenna. During a previous spacewalk a week earlier, the pair ran out of time before the new antenna could be installed.
With that first spacewalk, Adenot became the first woman from France to ever conduct an EVA.
Why is it incredible?
It can be hard to conceptualize just how high up the ISS orbits until you see a photo like this one; few people on Earth have ever flown as high as 250 miles (400 km), so that altitude can feel a bit abstract. Seeing an astronaut like Adenot clinging to the space station with the clouds and blue oceans of Earth below puts things into perspective.
At that height, the ISS orbits at quite a high rate of speed. The orbital laboratory zips around Earth at 17,500 mph (28,000 kph), meaning it circles the planet 16 times a day. This photo was taken on day 194, or orbit 3010, of Adenot’s mission, which began in February when she launched to the ISS as part of NASA’s Crew-12 mission.