September 22, 2010, with the departure of the Expedition 23 crew, Colonel Douglas H. Wheelock assumed command of the International Space Station and the Expedition 25 crew. He is also known as @Astro_Wheelson twitter, where he has been tweeting pictures to his followers since he arrived at the space station. We thought that we should put some of them together as a tribute to him and the whole ISS crew. The images bring breathtaking views from our only off planet Vista point. The following pictures are all visible on Astro_Wheels' twitpic account and for these we are eternally grateful to him for sharing these with the world. The captions are all his own words. [29 Pictures]
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Go Discovery! It was October 23, 2007 at 11:40am EST when I had my first ride to space on Discovery. She's beautiful... just sad that this will be her last voyage.. Looking forward to climbing aboard the flight deck when Discovery arrives at the Space Station in November. (9-23-2010)
'Earthshine'... The Space Station basking in blue Earthshine as the rising sun pierces our razor-thin atmosphere to cover the Space Station with blue light. I’ll never forget this place…seeing this makes the heart soar and the soul sing (11-7-2010).
NASA astronaut Douglas H. Wheelock ( NASA)
Isle Juan de Nova in the Mozambique Channel between Madagascar and the African mainland. The beautiful colors rival the amazing places in the Caribbean (11-15-2010).
Aurora Borealis in the distance on this beautiful night over Europe. The Strait of Dover is pretty clear as is Paris, the City of Lights. A little fog over the western part of England and London. It is incredible to see the lights of the cities and small towns against the backdrop of deep space. I am going to miss this view of our wonderful world... (11-8-2010)
"Fly me to the Moon…let me dance among the Stars…" I hope we never lose our sense of wonder. A passion for exploration and discovery is a noble legacy to leave to our children. I hope we set our sails and venture out one day. That will be one glorious day… (8-22-2010)
Of all the places on our glorious planet, few rival the brilliant colors of The Bahamas. Here is a view of our Progress-37 re-supply spacecraft, with the islands of The Bahamas as a backdrop. What a wonderful world (8-22-2010)!
Traveling at 17,500 miles per hour (5 miles per second)…we orbit the Earth every 90 minutes, with a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. So half of our space walk is in complete darkness. The helmet lights are essential at the work site. Here I am getting the bail drive lever ready for my arch nemesis…the " Ammonia Connector". The dance begins (8-14-2010).
Every moment I get to look out the window at our beautiful planet, my soul just sings!!..."see skies of blue…and clouds of white…the bright blessed day…" (6-29-2010)
Another breathtaking sunset…we get 16 of these each day in Earth orbit, each one a treasured moment. That beautiful thin blue line is what makes our home so special in the cosmos. Space is cool…but, the Earth is a raging explosion of life in a vast sea of darkness (6-21-2010).
Beautiful atoll in the South Pacific through a 400mm lens. About 1200 miles south of Honolulu . In the ‘Line Islands’ along ‘Christmas Ridge’, either ‘Teraina’ or ‘Tabuaeran’? (11-15-2010)
Beautiful reflection of sunlight on the eastern Mediterranean Sea. No borders or conflict visible from space…just breath-taking beauty like this view of the island of Cyprus (6-21-2010).
Out over the central Atlantic, just before another spectacular sunset, with the spiral bands of Hurricane Earl visible in the setting sun. An interesting view of the life-giving energy of our sun. The solar arrays on the port side of the Space Station as well as Hurricane Earl…both gathering the last bit of energy before they fall into eclipse (8-30-2010).
Just a little further to the east, we spotted sacred and majestic 'Uluru'. You may recognize it by its more popular name of 'Ayers Rock'. I have never had the opportunity to visit Australia, but one glorious day, I hope to be standing amazed beside this natural wonder. Can't wait to read your thoughts of 'Uluru' (10-26-2010).
Morning breaking over the majestic Andes in South America . I really am not sure of the name of this mountain…just was in awe of its majesty, reaching into the windswept heights and the rising sun. Another day... another chance to stand tall and be counted (10-30-2010).
Over the Sahara Desert approaching ancient lands and thousands of years of history. The Nile River flowing through Egypt past the pyramids of Giza up to Cairo in the delta; the Red Sea, Sinai Peninsula, Dead Sea; Jordan River; and the Sea of Galilee are visible, as are the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea and Greece coming over the horizon (9-6-2010).
A night view of the Nile River winding up through the Egyptian desert toward the Mediterranean Sea, and Cairo in the river delta. Such a stark contrast between the dark desolate lifeless desert of northern Africa and the Nile River teeming with life along its shores. In the distance... the eastern Mediterranean on a beautiful autumn evening (1-31-2010).
Our ‘Progress 39P’ unmanned resupply spaceship on final approach for docking this past Sunday. It was laden with food, fuel, spare parts, and much needed supplies for our orbiting outpost. The greatest gift was just inside the hatch…some bags of fresh fruit and vegetables. Such a wonderful treat after 3 months of eating out of tubes and plastic pouches (9-15-2010)!
Wanted to share this view out of the Cupola. We said farewell to our teammates Sasha, Misha and Tracy this weekend and they are safely back on planet Earth. Tracy in quiet reflection of an incredible journey…homeward bound…(9-26-2010)
Soyuz 23S, “Olympus†docked to the nadir side of the Space Station. This will be our ride back home to planet Earth when our work is complete here. Thought I would tweet this view out of the Cupola, as we were passing over the majestic snow-capped Caucuses. The sun rising and reflecting off the Caspian Sea (9-26-2010).
An explosion of color, motion, and life painted on the canvas of our wonderful world. This is a section of the Great Barrier Reef off the eastern coast of Australia, captured through a 1200mm lens. I think even the great Impressionists would be awestruck with this natural display (8-22-2010).
SThe beauty of Italy, on a clear summer night, stretching out into the Mediterranean Sea. You can see many of the beautiful islands lit up and adorning the coastline including Capri, Sicily, and Malta. The city of Naples and Mt. Vesuvius stand out along the coast. Viva Esperia (8-22-2010)!
At the southern end of South America lies the jewel of Patagonia. The awe-inspiring beauty of rugged mountains, massive glaciers, fjords, and the open sea collide in a breathtaking display. I have dreams of this place and wonder what it would be like to breathe this air. Pure majesty (8-28-2010)!
The ‘Cupola’, attached to the nadir side of the Space Station, gives a panoramic view of our beautiful planet. Fyodor took this picture from the window of the Russian Docking Compartment (Airlock). Here I am in the Cupola preparing a camera for our late evening Hurricane Earl flyover…trying to capture the moment…(8-31-2010)
The Isles of Greece during a clear night pass over Europe. Athens shining brightly along the Mediterranean Sea. A very surreal feeling to view the splendor of this ancient land from outer space (9-4-2010).
The Florida peninsula and the southeastern U.S. on the kind of evening that I miss most about our planet. A clear autumn night with moonlight over the water and the sky filled with a billion stars (11-2-2010).
A clear starry night over the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea . Ancient lands with thousands of years of history stretching from Athens, Greece all the way around the Med to Cairo, Egypt. Storied lands, fabled cities, and alluring islands... Athens - Crete - Rhodes - Izmir - Ankara - Cyprus - Damascus - Beirut - Haifa - Amman - Tel Aviv - Jerusalem - Cairo are beacons on this cool November night. Grace and Peace from the sanctity of space... (11-7-2010)
It is the season for viewing Polar Mesospheric Clouds, and with our high beta-angle we were able to capture this thin layer of noctilucent clouds at sunset (6-25-2010).
Shannon, me, and Fyodor all suited up in our Sokol (Russian word for 'Falcon') pressure suits in the Russian MRM-1 module. We strapped into our Soyuz capsule 'Olympus' to conduct pressurization and leak checks on our suits. All systems 'go'... the countdown to landing has begun. Leave a light on for us... we'll be home soon... (11-20-2010)
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- Mary Rehwald
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"Pessimism is about analysis of the situation. Optimism is about the orientation of the spirit."
