Cologne from ISS - combination of photos

The Rhine river is a central feature in the photos, taken by Paolo from the Cupola of the International Space Station on 11 May. It runs from Porz in the south through the city centre, or ‘Innenstadt’ in German, to Chorweiler area up in the north.

This southern part of Cologne is where the airport is located; the large terrain on the southern side of the airport also houses the research campus of the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

The European Astronaut Centre (EAC) is on the DLR premises, sharing some functions with them. The campus area is very visible in one of the photos off the crossing point of the two shorter runways: long, straight road with dark buildings and one brighter building – EAC – all surrounded by forest.