The Best Photos Taken by Astronaut Don Pettit on His Most Recent Space Mission

Apr 21, 2025

Matt Growcoot

View from space showing Earth’s curved horizon with glowing red and green atmospheric layers, starry background, and city lights; on the right, colorful clouds and auroras light up the planet’s edge. — Two of Pettit’s best photos he took during Expedition 72.

Don Pettit touched back down on Earth on Saturday — the day of his 70th birthday — after spending the last six months living in the International Space Station (ISS). Pettit is one of the most accomplished photographers to ever visit space and captured some special shots during Expedition 72.

Pettit is NASA’s oldest-serving astronaut and is famous for creating the Zero-G coffee cup which allows astronauts to drink a cup of joe, it received the first-ever patent for an invention in space.

A group of people in blue jumpsuits and jackets carry an astronaut in a white spacesuit across a grassy field, with a crowd and vehicles in the background under a cloudy sky. — Pettit being carried to a medical tent after landing in Kazakhstan on Saturday. | Bill Ingalls/NASA

But Pettit is probably better-known for his photography skills and regular readers will be aware of his talent. In an interview with PetaPixel before blasting off for Expedition 72, Pettit explained that he has been a keen photographer since he was a young boy.

During his recent stay on the ISS, Pettit captured many wondrous, scientific, and gorgeous photos. Here are some highlights.

View of a starry sky from space, showcasing two prominent fuzzy galaxies against a dark backdrop. A warm orange glow and part of a spacecraft frame the lower portion of the scene. — A long exposure photo of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, two small galaxies that orbit the Milky Way Galaxy. The Large Magellanic Cloud and Small Magellanic Cloud are some 200,000 light-years away but orbit the Milky Way Galaxy, home to Earth’s solar system. To capture the images, Pettit brought a homemade tracking system that allows him to take long-exposure photographs.

A long-exposure photo of a spacecraft in orbit, with streaks of light trails from stars in the background. The curvature of Earth is visible on the horizon, with a glowing band of light from the atmosphere. — Pettit captured this star trail photo showing airglow, Starlink satellites, and modules of the ISS on December 3. He called the photos a “blend of both science and art.”

View from space showing vibrant green and red auroras over Earth. Parts of a spacecraft are visible, with solar panels on the right. Stars dot the dark sky, creating a striking contrast with the colorful auroras below. — Pettit shared this photo of a brilliant aurora on New Year’s Day.

A curved view of Earth from space with a blurred, glowing horizon. The background is filled with numerous stars and a visible section of the Milky Way galaxy, creating a luminous, celestial scene. — In this photo the Milky Way, Starlink satellites, and zodiacal light are visible. Taken on January 11 from the SpaceX Dragon Crew 9 vehicle port window.

A view of Earth from space shows bright city lights on the surface, a glowing green and red aurora along the curve of the planet, and a star-filled sky with a visible galaxy in the background. — The Andromeda Galaxy above atmospheric airglow and red and green aurora close to the rising Sun and streaking city lights.

A view from the International Space Station shows colorful light trails over Earth’s atmosphere, with red and green atmospheric bands and star trails appearing in the dark space above the planet. — Pettit captured this image of “Thai Aurora”. Fishing boats off the coast of Thailand use green lights to lure their catch.

A stunning long-exposure photograph captures star trails forming circular patterns in the night sky, with the curvature of Earth illuminated by city lights and a prominent space station feature in the upper right corner. — Pettit recreated his famous 2012 *Lightning Bugs* photo in this picture from March. This image is roughly a 30-minute exposure assembled from “multiple 30-second exposures.”

A long-exposure image taken from the International Space Station shows the Earth at night with vibrant streaks of aurora borealis in green and red. The blurred lights of cities contrast against the dark expanse of space. — The ISS soars above Lake Michigan.

A spacecraft approaches Earth’s atmosphere, illuminated by green and red lights, with clouds and the curve of the planet visible below, and part of a space station structure in the foreground. — A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft fires its thrusters as it undocks from the ISS.

View of Earth’s atmosphere from space, showing glowing clouds with flashes of lightning, a thin orange and green atmospheric layer, and a star-filled black sky above. — Lightning dramatically lights up the clouds over the Pacific Ocean in November.

Pettit spent 220 days on board the ISS – orbiting the Earth 3,520 times. He touched down on Satuday along with Russian crewmates Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner and will now spend time readjusting to gravity before being flown back to Houston, Texas.

Image credits: Photographs by Don Pettit/NASA