Samantha Cristoforetti in the cupola

ESA Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti gazes from the cupola on the International Space Station. During her second mission, Minerva, she captured hundreds of Earth images from this vantage point. These beautiful images weren't just a hobby, but helped researchers in numerous projects, such as illustrating light pollution across the world. 

You can take a look at some of these images yourself on Samantha's Flickr.