Portugal and Spain – dramatic weather

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst took this picture of Portugal and Spain from the International Space Station on 6 August 2018. 

Alexander commented on the photo: "Dramatic weather pattern over Portugal today. Looks like a mixture of dust, sand and smoke."

The trio’s landing in the Kazakh steppe marked the successful conclusion of over six months in space during which Alexander conducted over 60 European experiments, became the second ever European commander of the International Space Station, welcomed six resupply vehicles, installed the first commercial facility for research in the Columbus laboratory, delivered an important message on climate change for leaders at the COP24 climate change conference, captured real-time footage of a Soyuz launch abort and much, much more.

Horizons was Alexander’s second mission to the International Space Station – the first was Blue Dot in 2014.