Polaris Dawn's Fast Journey Home Shown in ISS Photo

An extraordinary image captured by an astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS) depicts SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn Crew Dragon capsule as it swiftly reenters Earth’s atmosphere early on Sunday morning. This capsule was returning home with a crew of four aboard.

A closer look at the photograph, taken by recently arrived ISS astronaut Don Pettit, reveals a brilliant streak of light along with the Crew Dragon against a backdrop of city lights. The five-day Polaris Dawn mission, notable for featuring four non-professional astronauts, conducted the first-ever privately financed spacewalk and took humans to the furthest distance from Earth since the Apollo missions over fifty years ago.“This morning’s entry of Polaris Dawn,” Pettit stated in his post on X (formerly Twitter), along with the image. “I took this photograph at 7:23 a.m. GMT from the Cupola on the ISS. In addition to the vibrant entry trail over Florida, you can also see the distinct cone shape of the Dragon capsule.”

Using a Nikon Z9 with a 200mm lens, Pettit captured the shot at f2, at 1/400th of a second, and an ISO of 25600, all from the ISS’s Cupola module, known for providing breathtaking views of Earth and beyond.

Fellow NASA astronaut and ISS crew member Matthew Dominick also shared his experience on X, highlighting the atmosphere aboard the ISS while Pettit took the photo. “Many of us crowded into the Cupola this morning to witness Polaris Dawn’s return to Earth. It was entertaining seeing Pettit capture this moment with five of us packed closely together. Honestly, I believe the crowd helped steady his camera for the shot,” he commented.

At 69, Pettit is NASA’s oldest active astronaut and arrived at the ISS last week alongside cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner via a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

This marks Pettit’s fourth journey into space, and throughout his previous missions, he has become known for capturing stunning images during his time in orbit. Expect to see more remarkable content from him in the coming six months.