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    ESA > Our Activities > Human Spaceflight

    minigallery: Views from Cupola

    The main role of Cupola is to serve as an observatory: it has a clear view of Earth and celestial bodies, and there enough space to accommodate two astronauts holding cameras with telephoto lenses.

    Whether targeted Earth observations and scientific measurements or aesthetic and relaxing views, the scenery outside Cupola is impressive. From oil spills, desertification, melting icebergs and glaciers, dust storms, hurricanes and pollution to atmospheric phenomena and auroras – it is a lengthy list of targets.

    Even now, when Earth can be studied all the time by many satellites with a variety of sensors, observations from the ISS are important, because there the observer is human. Astronauts not only adapt to changing situations, but also take photos spontaneously, when something interesting is happening.

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    Nightly view of Europe and Africa
    New Orleans and Houston with parts of the northern U.S. Gulf coast
    Earth and its horizon seen through the windows in Cupola
    Typhoon-hit Amami island in Japan
    Forest fire in Montana
    Mataiva Atoll in the South Pacific Ocean
    Aurora Australis
    Hurricane Danielle
    A sunset on the Indian Ocean
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    • Node-3 & Cupola
    • Wonderful vistas from Cupola
      • Views from Cupola
      • Related articles
        • Space Station gains a new room: Node-3 installed
          • Astronauts enter Space Station’s new Node-3
            • Space Station’s big bay window installed
              • The Cupola opens its seven eyelids
              • Related links
              • Thales Alenia Space
              • Building the ISS
              • Where is ISS now?

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