Alps from space

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst sent this image of the Western Alps from the International Space Station with the text: "The majestic Alps. Where two continents colide."

The image shows France, Switzerland and Italy, including the hometown of ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti Malè in the Italian province of Trento. Samantha will take over from Alexander on the weightless research centre, launching with NASA astronaut Terry Virts and Anton Shkaplerov on her Futura mission two weeks after Alexander returns to Earth.

Working 400 km above our planet, Alexander is taking beautiful pictures in his spare time. Follow his Blue Dot mission via alexandergerst.esa.int